Abraw contract row deepens
Chiefs, Celtic heading for PSL’s dispute resolution chamber
WHAT was meant to be an amicable solution over Camaldine Abraw’s contract has turned into an ugly battle between league champions Kaizer Chiefs and Bloemfontein Celtic.
Celtic chairman Max Tshabalala yesterday confirmed they were taking Abraw to the PSL’s dispute resolution chamber (DRC) for breach of contract after Amakhosi unveiled the former Free State Stars player as a new acquisition on Tuesday despite him signing a three-year precontract with Phunya Sele Sele.
Tshabalala, who had said they would try to resolve the matter amicably on Monday, claims Amakhosi manager Bobby Motaung called him the day before Abraw’s unveiling and gave the player the phone to apologise to Celtic. Stars exercised a one-year extension option on the player’s contract, and then sold him to Amakhosi.
“This thing is going to the DRC. We want our player back. We have written to Chiefs and the player must come back to us. We have lodged a complaint with the DRC and we are waiting for the dates. Whatever the DRC decides we will be fine with it,” Tshabalala said yesterday.
“The day before he [Abraw] was unveiled, Bobby let me talk to the player after training. The player said he is sorry for what he has done.
“Bobby would have never done that if he did not know the player had signed a contract with us. He may have gone to Stars to get his clearance, but that does not nullify what was done before that. He signed a pre-contract with us and it was his legal right to do that because he was in the last six months of his contract.
“He came to us looking for a job and we even gave him our [training] programmes [for the off season].
“We have done nothing wrong. We do not poach players. We need to be adults here.”
Motaung said they were ready for a fight. He denied even knowing Tshabalala. “We heard about that. Let them come. We will go to the DRC with them,” he said yesterday.
“I won’t talk about their chairman. I don’t know that man. I have never met him before. And I do not talk to him through the media,” he said.
This is not the first time Chiefs have been involved in a transfer dispute. Previously Chiefs have lost transfer disputes involving Dumisa Ngobe, Lesley Manyathela, Papi Zothwane and Siphelele Mthembu.
Ironically, Chiefs have sent midfielder Chris Matombo on a season long loan to Celtic.
ý Former Chiefs striker Pollen Ndlanya says new Amakhosi forward Bongani Ndulula lacks confidence and needs to start believing in himself to succeed at a club where fans can easily turn on one of their own.
Ndulula scored only four league goals for relegated AmaZulu last season and was guilty of missing a glorious one- on-one opportunity in Usuthu’s final game of the season against Maritzburg United. Had he scored, AmaZulu might have had a fighting chance in the relegation-promotion playoffs.
At Chiefs, Ndulula is going to have to be clinical in front of goal or he will be the next Kingston Nkhatha, a player who was jeered by fans for wasting chances. “Ndulula is a good player, but what I have realised is that he does not believe in himself. He does not have confidence. He has to start believing in himself.
“Being a striker at Chiefs comes with a lot of pressure and he must be mentally prepared to deal with the fans. He needs to be very aggressive and be a predator,” Ndlanya said.
Chiefs’ other new recruit, Abraw, is no proven goal scorer but uses his big frame to create opportunities and space for teammates.
“He has potential,” Ndlanya said. “But I have seen a lot of players from Free State coming [to Gauteng] and they find it difficult to adjust.”
Bernard Parker remains Amakhosi’s most reliable striker, while the likes of Siphelele Mthembu and David Zulu still have to prove themselves in the gold and black.
So new coach Steve Komphela will again have to rely on Siphiwe Tshabalala, George Lebese and Reneilwe Letsholonyane to chip in with goals.