A legal guru, who has a comprehensive understanding of the football landscape, has provided clarity on what might have been behind Kaizer Chiefs' so-called 'underhand tactics' in their pursuit of Cape Town Spurs winger Asanele Velebayi.
On Thursday, KickOff published a story where Spurs CEO Alexi Efstathiou called Chiefs out for making direct contact with the player, as his contract with the Mother City-based outfit still has three more years to run.
"These tactics and tricks clubs and agents use don't work with Cape Town Spurs. They are the oldest strategy in the book. If you wanna keep by the rules, you don't contact the players directly. That's the first thing. So, a club like Chiefs should not be contacting any players directly," he lamented.
READ: Lorch told to shape up or ship out?
This followed news that the Soweto giants had had their offer for the 21-year-old's services rejected. Local media reports also have it that Velebayi's parents have since requested a meeting with the Urban Warriors' management in an effort to 'force matters'.
What's become as clear as daylight is that the player wants to leave.
But contractual obligations are worth way more than the piece of paper they are written on, and besides, FIFA pours scorn on the practice of clubs tapping players up. It is for this reason that Chiefs could find themselves in trouble with the rule of law.
We sought a legal opinion on the matter, with football agent-cum-attorney Mpho Nkontlha of Nkontlha Attorneys Inc happy to provide insight.
"FIFA has introduced what is called a Protected Period in football. Any player who enters into a professional contract with a football club prior to his 28th birthday shall not terminate their contract without just cause for a period of three seasons following the entry into force of that contract," revealed Nkontlha.
"The rationale behind this seeks to promote contractual stability or what is known as pacta sunt servanda (agreements must be kept/contracts must be honoured). The Protection Period can be raised by both the professional and the football club during termination of either party without just cause.
"This falls within the definition of inducement, a conduct which is prohibited by FIFA. A player may be induced by the interested entity to terminate their contract under the Protected Period, which would be deemed as termination without just cause before the Football Tribunal or CAS. The only reason clubs resort to these tactics is to avoid paying [a] transfer fee to the releasing entity. They would promise players [a] staggering signing bonus and lofty wages, provided they hand in a transfer request," he goes on.
Nkontlha says in the Velebayi case, two issues are critical: his age and length of contract.
"He is 22 years old, which means his contract is protected. Should he elect to terminate, then Spurs would be entitled to compensation."
So, what is the punishment for clubs disobeying the rules, which, by the way, they are well aware of?
"FIFA RSTP [Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players] provides that a Club that has induced a player into terminating their contract shall be banned from registering any new players, locally or internationally, for two consecutive [transfer window] periods.
"It is not easy to adjudicate these types of cases. However, CAS [Court of Arbitration for Sport] has underlined four criteria when inducement is put to the test: 1) The financial situation of the new club (Kaizer Chiefs is an elite club); 2) Whether an offer was made (indeed, there was an approach to the Club); 3) The financial value of this offer; 4) The sporting level of the new club."
The legal guru adds that in the event that Spurs were to approach the PSL Dispute Resolution Chamber, alleging inducement, it would be a cumbersome exercise as the jurisprudence in that regard is not crystal clear.
"However, in the current case, Kaizer Chiefs is presumed to know the length of the contract owing to its earlier enquiries made directly to the club. With that knowledge, they proceeded to speak to the professional, hoping that he would hand in a transfer request and join them without [a] transfer fee paid to the releasing entity.
READ | RIP: Ex-Bafana Bafana star shot dead
"It was prudent of Cape Town Spurs to boldly warn Kaizer Chiefs that their actions are in contravention of FIFA RSTP Article 17(4).
"This is a national association transfer, which does not trigger FIFA RSTP, the jurisdiction hereof falls within the PSL DRC. It is my view that when the inducing club has a huge financial muscle, the aggrieved party gets discouraged from litigating, thus losing their asset for next to nothing.
"PSL requires impartial and strong judicial bodies which are to protect the interests of all stakeholders before we approach CAS," concludes the Tshwane-based intermediary.