Johannesburg- Despite the PSL’s Premiership season being in recess and the PSL player transfers being in overdrive, there is plenty of drama on and off the field of play, both here at home and at the Cameroon 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, notwithstanding the DStv Compact Cup jamboree scheduled to kick off on Saturday.
Seasoned Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe, who handled the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations final between Cameroon and Egypt, with the Indomitable Lions crowned victors, blew the final whistle as the clock ticked 85 minutes, plunging the match into an embarrassing controversy as Mali upset Tunisia 1-0.
Sikazwe halted the opening round match prematurely by calling for full time only to restart it, but the Tunisians refused to take to the field and now the match official is said to have not been in the right frame of mind to officiate.
Back home, parents beware of football scammers hell-bent on making a quick buck by pretending to be registered football agents.
The bogus football agents are running amok. And they are not targeting PSL clubs only.
Unwary parents have been caught off guard, losing hundreds of thousands of rand in payments to fake agents as they claim they can expedite academy placements for their kids using the names of top clubs like Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, and AmaZulu of late.
Ask AmaZulu chairperson Sandile Zungu.
He can attest to it as his name has been used to lure parents and some experienced players into parting with their hard-earned cash after being promised club placements that failed to materialise.
Even Banyana stars have fallen victim to the deceptive scammers’ wayward ways.
Renowned player agent Jazzman Mahlakgane has been in and out of cop shops opening cases against rogues pretending to be him and fleecing parents and players.
Mahlakgane is a popular agent representing some of the top PSL players, however, the scammers go to the extent of making calls, professing to be Mahlakgane while another person on the line claims to be the chairperson of a PSL club.
It does not end with players. The coaches have also fallen victim. Some have escaped the traps, but others have lost money in the process.
That said, some drama of the highest order is unfolding at Baroka FC.
The Premiership club’s coach, Kgoloko Thobejane, and the club’s goalkeeper coach, Naughty Lekgau, have been implicated in a bribery conspiracy by football scout and mentor Alpheus Thantsha, who purports to have lost about R20 000, allegedly to the two coaches.
Thantsha claims the Limpopo-based club’s technical team duo promised three of his players contracts with Baroka’s DStv Diski Challenge reserve team.
He is adamant he paid the money to them when Thobejane was still with Baroka’s reserve team late last year.
The jury is still out on whether Thobejane and Lekgau did indeed pocket the R20 000, but club chairperson Khurishi Mphahlele dismissed Thantsha’s accusations.
Mphahlele referred to Thantsha as being unscrupulous, immoral and a crooked person who takes money from parents.
Parents beware, be vigilant, verify, ask questions and inquire before parting with your moola.
For the latest sports news from Sunday World, click here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
