Sacked Jali ‘injured’, not on strike at Birds
• The veteran midfielder has received a letter of dismissal from the club
Andile Jali’s agent, Mike Makaab, has revealed the veteran midfielder has been sacked by Moroka Swallows, though the star’s name was not on the list of 22 players fired by the club circulating on social media.
Swallows recently dismissed most of their senior squad after they embarked on a strike following a dispute stemming from the players’ allegation the club had failed to pay their salaries.
The total number of players shown the door has been reported to be as many as 28.
The strike forced the Dube Birds to fail to honour their last two Premier Soccer League (PSL) fixtures of 2023 against Mamelodi Sundowns and Golden Arrows in December.
Swallows were charged by the PSL for bringing the league into disrepute and fined R1m, of which R600,000 is suspended for 24 months.
Speaking to KwaZulu-Natal radio station Gagasi FM where he is a co-host of its sport show, Makaab said Jali received a letter of dismissal alongside Letshene Phalane, who is also represented by the agent. “The two players ... that are not settled are Letshene Phalane and Andile Jali. But we are hoping that within the next week or two, we will have sorted their futures out,” he said.
“We are sure we’ve been able to sort out four other players [who have exited Swallows]. Andile was one of the players who were dismissed by Swallows. He got a letter of dismissal and we are speaking to the club; we are contesting that dismissal.”
Makaab suggested that Jali, who signed for Swallows from Sundowns for one season with an option to renew at the start of the 2023-24 campaign, was not on strike but out with an injury.
“AJ was injured so he wasn’t available to train, and he wasn’t available to play,” Makaab said.
“That’s what we are dealing with ... and I’m sure we will get a result,” he said.
City Press reported that Swallows has re-signed some of the players that were sacked as they did not want to be part of the strike in the first place.
The SA Football Players’ Union has vowed to take Swallows to the PSL dispute resolution chamber if they continue to fire players.