Johannesburg – Bloemfontein Celtic players have embarked on a signing on fees strike which almost embarrassingly scuppered their league match against Golden Arrows last Sunday.
The players had also planned to boycott their next Tuesday home game against Moroka Swallows. Of their fees were not paid.
News of the strike, which was kept hush hush, came to the fore when players boycotted their Friday training session ahead of their Abafana Besthende game, which ended in 1-all draw.
According to a source closed to the team, the players refused to travel to Kwa-Zulu Natal on Friday after the management failed to pay their signing on fees after several promises.
They only travelled to meet Arrows on Saturday after the team management nuzzled them to do so and promised to pay their fees this past Friday.
Speaking to Sunday World the tipster, who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation said the financially embattled club was supposed to have paid the players their fees in February but the team mandarins failed to do so due to liquidity problems.
They promised to pay the players by the end of last month but, again, failed to do so and promised to pay them on April 8.
“After the payment was not received by the 8th of April as agreed, the players decided to down tools and boycotted Friday’s training session ahead of their DSTV premiership game against Golden Arrows. They were supposed to travel to KZN to play Golden Arrows that Friday but they refused to go. They only travelled there on Saturday after the club promised to pay them this past Friday,” said the mole.
The source also said the players had also planned to boycott their forthcoming league match against Swallows on Tuesday. But that strike was averted when the club paid them on Friday.
The mole said despite being paid, the players ‘s morale has reached its lowest ebb as they were worried that they might not be able to get their salaries in future as the club was not financially stable.
“Obviously they have bills to pay . You don’t want to play for a club that seems to be financially in trouble because that affects you psychologically,” said the source.
Celtic Public Relations manager Sello Nduna confirmed that the players signing on fees were not paid because of the club’s financial situation.
“ It is not true that the team did not travel on Friday, the team travelled on Friday. But the fees were paid this past Friday after the chairman got money from his other businesses. The players should not worry about whether their salaries would be paid or not because that has never happened in recent times,” he said.
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