Ntwari’s sub refusal: Signs of cracks at Chiefs? Kaze responds

Kaizer Chiefs served fans with drama in the final minutes of their Carling Knockout loss to Stellenbosch FC on Sunday when goalkeeper Fiacre Nwatri refused to be substituted.

With the game into the final seconds of extra time and both sides settled for post-match penalties, the Chiefs technical bench sought to make a goalkeeping change in an effort to get an edge in the shootouts.

Bruce Bvuma was ready to come on but when his number went up, Ntwari refused to be substituted, leaving the technical bench furious.

The goalkeeper would stay on for the penalties and saved Stellies’ first penalty, taken by Andre de Jong, although Chiefs went on to lose in sudden death after Tashreeq Morris missed the fifth kick that would have sent the Glamour Boys into the quarter-final.

Player power at play at Kaizer Chiefs?

🇷🇼 Fiacre Ntwari came back to Kaizer Chiefs first squad in today’s game against Stellembosch in 🇿🇦 Carling Knockout, but it seems that… he might won’t make it again.pic.twitter.com/KlqjtdTeZP

It’s not about his performance — he didn’t concede a single goal. But when penalty…
— Rwandan Footy 🇷🇼 (@RwandanFooty) October 5, 2025

It was an act of defiance that left a lot of questions about who is really in charge at Chiefs, showing that there could be cracks at the club following the departure of coach Nasreddine Nabi, as his assistants appear not to be getting listened to by the players.

Even before Ntwari’s refusal, midfielder Sibongiseni Mthethwa had also initially refused to come off before he had a change of heart and it looks like player power is at play within the dressing room at Naturena.

Chiefs assistant coach Cedric Kaze admitted Ntwari’s act of defiance spoiled their gameplan as they had worked on it in training and the fact that the Rwanda international was part of the preparations but refused to come on for his team-mate did not look good.

Kaze responds to Ntwari’s act of defiance

“I believe in those kind of situation, it’s something that we’re gonna handle internally,” Kaze said after the match.

“He [Ntwari] said that he feels confident to continue. He was comfortable to go on and for the penalty and help the team. He was coming from a good intention, maybe the way he wasn’t as good as it should be, but it’s something that we will address.”

Ntwari had earned a rare start, having spent months in the cold, but it appears that he has now buried his Chiefs career completely after the incident no matter his intentions while it leaves more questions rather than answers over the team leadership at the club.