Johannesburg – Former Polokwane City goalkeeper Harold Ndlovu has been earning a paltry salary of R16 000 a month while plying his trade at the Limpopo-based club last season.
The jaw-dropping tidbits, which will send shockwaves through the football fraternity, are contained in the notice of intention to tax bill of costs papers filed in the Joburg High Court last month by the South African Football Association arbitrator Johan van Gaalen of Van Gaalen Attorneys, who is demanding over R60 000 in legal costs from Polokwane City.
Van Gaalen lifted the lid on the player’s shocking salary when narrating the merits of the case and quantifying the amount in court papers, which are in our possession.
He said Ndlovu had signed a contract with the Rise and Shine in which they agreed to pay him a measly R16 000 salary a month.
The team, which is owned by construction tycoon Johnny Mogaladi, was supposed to increase Ndlovu’s salary by R1 600 to R17 600 a month for the 2018/2019 season.
But the outfit, which was relegated to the GladAfrica division last season, failed and/or refused to do so.
“In respect of the merits, the club conceded that it was in breach of the contract when it failed to pay the full salary of the player. It continued to pay the player R16 000 per month instead of R17 600 despite that the addendum to the contract, signed by the parties, had increased the player’s salary by 10% for the 2018/2019 season, thus increasing his salary from R16 000 per month to R17 600 per month,” read the papers.
Van Gaalen also said the dispute was first adjudicated by the dispute resolution chamber (DRC) of the National Soccer League.
This after Ndlovu accused the club of repudiating their contract when it failed to pay all his salary when it was due. As a result, the footie cancelled his contract on January 18 last year and declared himself a free agent. The DRC found in favour of Ndlovu on April 29 last year and ordered the club to pay him R50 000 in damages and declare him a free agent.
Aggrieved by the findings, the club referred the dispute to arbitration on June 25 last year. Van Gaalen said Ndlovu, who was represented by the South African Football Players Union, asked him not to consider the club’s referral because the club’s condonation was 22 days late.
He said the club paid Van Gaalen R30 000 instead of the required R35 000 deposit of referral within 72 hours and only paid the outstanding R5 000 after 22 days.
Van Gaalen dismissed the footballer’s assertion, and said the club paid the referral 15 minutes late and not 22 days as Ndlovu claimed.
He said the club conceded that it breached the contract but argued that Ndlovu was supposed to forewarn it before cancelling the contract even though there was no such clause in the contract.
Van Gaalen dismissed Ndlovu’s referral claim and ordered the club to pay the player’s costs of the arbitration and forfeit the deposit it paid in initiating the referral.
He said the club was also ordered to pay the costs of the arbitration inclusive of the arbitrator’s fees.
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.
Sunday World
