Erstwhile PSL coach Walter Rautmann has spoken out in support of Dan Malesela, who was suspended by Baroka FC after just one match during the ongoing relegation/promotion play-offs.
The decision came as a surprise, not least because the former Orlando Pirates captain had come in and revived the fortunes of the Limpopo-based club, leading them from a relegation position to a play-offs spot during the regular season.
A few days after the shocking decision, on June 5, Bakgaga chairman Khurishi Mphahlele broke his silence in an exclusive conversation with this publication, revealing what led to the decision.
"Rumours are going around, and I'm trying to establish the truth about those rumours. They are the reason we suspended him, we didn't suspend him because of the weekend result.
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"He's been linking our players with other clubs, I'm talking about PSL clubs, while we are facing this big problem of having to win the play-offs. And now we are investigating him.
"Those clubs are not phoning me as the club's chairman, they are phoning him directly. The investigation is based on that, it's not about the result," he said.
In turn, a day later, Malesela came out with his side of the story, also exclusively to KickOff website. He was spitting fire.
"People are formulating stories, and these things happen at every club. I think it's a lack of appreciation because somebody should have first looked at where the team comes from, and where is it now.
"When I got there, the team was number 15, and we drew one match, [and then] we were number 16. But then we went up to position three. So, people don't appreciate all those things.
"In the first phase, the team was fighting relegation, but do they appreciate it?", wondered 'Dan Dance'.
Now, old head Rautmann, who has dealt with one Limpopo club too many in his career, has chimed in. He is known not to be a fan of Morgan Mammila, having previously questioned his legitimacy to coach in the PSL without the necessary qualifications.
"Dan Malesela is right, this is about Detective 'Pep' Mammila stabbing him in the back. I had to deal with these crooked club owners for over 30 years," shares Rautmann.
"They had sangomas who got paid more than the coach and when the team lost, they blamed the coach for not using their muti properly and the owners believed them. At Rabali Blackpool in Venda, owner Peter Rabali had a fat metro police man as adviser, who wanted me to use useless players that he had brought to the club.
"When I refused, he told Rabali, 'This is the reason why the team will be relegated', and Rabali believed him despite me not losing one game with Blackpool. The club believed the police sangoma and told me to use these players. I refused and resigned, then they were relegated," added the outspoken former coach.
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Rautmann says he met the same fate at both Black Leopards and Bloemfontein Celtic.
"[David] Thidiela at Black Leopards, I told him to go to hell with his three sangomas and I left. Same story, they were relegated. At Bloemfontein Celtic, Petrus Molemela wanted to sit on the bench with me and when I refused, he attacked me in the change room, so I resigned. So, this was going on and still is, and poor Dan is right to expose this nonsense."
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