No place for Kermit Erasmus‚ says Bucs coach

THE Fifa rule that prevents a soccer player from turning out for three clubs in a season would block a potential move for Kermit Erasmus to Orlando Pirates until the end of the 2017-18 Premier Soccer League season‚ Bucs coach Milutin Sredojevic has said.

But Sredojevic said even if Erasmus was available now‚ he felt he already had the best players in South Africa at the club. The Pirates coach said his team did not want to court trouble in a similar manner to Ajax Cape Town by signing Erasmus‚ who was released from his contract, five months earlier, at French club Rennes last week.

The Cape club is facing boardroom battles over fielding Tendai Ndoro at his third club this season.

“As far as I know‚ deeply analysing Fifa rules‚ he would need to wait until June to be able to register anywhere else – except in Turkey‚ Russia‚ Sweden and China or the Far East‚ or places like that‚” Sredojevic said.

“He cannot register. Because on our side‚ that TMS [Transfer Matching Systems] in Fifa is closed – you cannot open it.”

Contrary to Sredojevic’s interpretation‚ the Fifa rule allows players to register with three clubs‚ but can play for only two.

But that three-club Fifa rule also has an exception – it does not apply when the season of one of the clubs overlaps.

Sredojevic hinted that a return to Pirates for striker Erasmus‚ who left Bucs to join Rennes in January 2016‚ might disrupt the flow of a squad finally showing signs of adapting to the coach’s style. “I’m the most happy person,” he said. “I believe I have‚ in my judgment‚ the best players in South Africa here.” – TimesLIVE