Kaizer Chiefs have responded to the controversy surrounding Asanele Velebayi and Luke Baartman, who signed with the club while still under contract with Cape Town Spurs.
According to Marketing and Commercial Director Jessica Motaung, the matter is being handled with a professional approach by Amakhosi. She further stated that this applies to all impending deals.
Chiefs have a deal in principle for the promising pair and anticipate their availability as free agents, pending the Premier Soccer League (PSL) Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) hearing on Monday.
Cape Town Spurs maintain that the players, including Liam Bern (who is moving to AmaZulu), remain contracted following their relegation to the ABC Motsepe League, arguing this places them outside PSL jurisdiction and maintains their amateur status.
Nevertheless, there are high chances that players will receive their clearances upon their request to the league and the South African Football Association (SAFA), clearing their path to Chiefs and AmaZulu.
WHAT CHIEFS SAID ABOUT VELEBAYI AND BAARTMAN
“I think what’s important is that we’re in the business of doing things that won’t interfere with other clubs, we want to follow certain procedures and that relates to any other player we’re looking at,” Motaung said as quoted by iDiski Times.
“So, we’re taking a very professional approach in terms of integrating and bringing the players into the team, so we will make sure we only make announcements, when the time is right – so watch this space.
“But certainly, we can’t be engaging on players who are still with teams or still contracted, once there are any changes we will make those announcements. There’s a process, it needs to be followed, once it’s done, we will make announcements.”
