South African Football Association

By TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG – THE South African Football Association (SAFA) will take disciplinary measures against some clubs after the club-versus-country debacle returned to haunt the local game again.
The latest tug-of-war over players comes ahead of the 2017 Edition of the Federation of International Football Associations Under 20 World Cup in Korea.
SAFA is accusing Bidvest Wits and Supersport United of derailing preparations for the tournament by refusing to release certain players.
Head of Communications, Dominic Chimhavi, confirmed the association received letters from the teams in which they have advised certain players against honouring a national call-up.
As a result, SAFA will convene a disciplinary hearing with the concerned clubs on Wednesday in a bid to urgently address this matter.
“We shall convene an urgent tribunal, seek the immediate suspension of the players in question and seek the severest penalty against all clubs that refuse to release players for the national team.”
“The reasons advanced by both Bidvest Wits FC and Supersport United are ill-advised, do not serve the national interest and go against SAFA Statutes that clubs are obliged to release the players to the national team,” Chimhavi said on Tuesday.
SAFA, the publicist said, are concerned by Wits “self-serving” reference to the u20 FIFA World Cup falling outside an international FIFA window and Supersport United FC’s insistence that they need players for their remaining fixtures that include the Nedbank Cup and the continental Confederations Cup.
“The FIFA World Cup is the Number One priority for any country and the national interest takes precedence over anything else,” argued Chimavhi.
South Africa are in Group D of the junior World Cup alongside Italy, Japan and Uruguay.
– Guardian