Mabedi in transfer row
EX-KAIZER Chiefs captain Patrick Mabedi has been accused of underhand dealings as a middle man in the failed transfer of Malawian defender Miracle Gabeya to Absa Premiership outfit Highlands Park.
Mabedi, a facilitator in the deal for Nyasa Big Bullets defender Gabeya, allegedly wanted a big cut and is being blamed for shattering the dreams of a player who was apparently going to get R50 000 at Highlands Park, compared to the R3 000 he is currently getting.
This is viewed by aggrieved parties as a conflict of interest because Mabedi is a coach at Cape Town All Stars.
Big Bullets claim Mabedi negotiated a transfer fee of $35 000 (about R465 000), without their knowledge in an attempt to get a big cut. This money, according to a source in Malawi, would be paid into Mabedi’s account.
According to e-mail correspondence – seen by Sowetan – sent by Highlands Park’s co-chairman Larry Brookstone to Mabedi, Highlands were happy to pay the fee they negotiated with Mabedi.
The e-mail reads as follows: “[This] serves to confirm that Highlands Park FC accepts Nyasa Bullets asking price of 35 000 US Dollars for Miracle Gabeya.”
Upon receiving this e-mail, Mabedi sent this offer to Big Bullets, but the chairman of the Malawian club Noel Lipipa claims the offer they received had a different amount.
“We asked Mr Mabedi to negotiate for us. We wanted $10 000 [around R132 000] for the player, but Mabedi negotiated $35 000 and this information was hidden from us. He came back and told us they are offering $7 000 but we wanted $10 000 for the player,” Lipipa told Sowetan yesterday.
“We then found out in the system that Highlands Park were offering $35 000. There was misrepresentation. The guys are being paid less. Gabeya was going to be paid R50 000 [and] we pay him about R3 000. ”
Highlands administrator Sinki Mnisi said he sensed something was fishy.
“When we made an application with the ITC [international transfer certificate] for a clearance, we asked them to confirm what we had offered on the system. And then on our side, Safa said they had not received anything from the team [Bullets], to concur with what we have offered. Now at 11.45pm [on transfer deadline day], I was told by Mabedi that the person who was supposed to log the information on the system is dead. Then we were told by Mabedi to change things and confirm that player is a free agent and still pay the $35 000. This showed that he was being disloyal,” said Mnisi. “We have learnt a lesson here.” Mabedi, however, denied these allegations when contacted by Sowetan yesterday.
“That is not true. Highlands Park offered $35 000 and I forwarded the e-mails to them [Bullets]. I played for Bullets, so that’s why I was helping them. I recommended the players for trials. I do not clear players,” he said.