A strong word of caution has been sent to PSL clubs by the Football Union of South Africa (FUSA) after one second-tier outfit was recently embroiled in a saga involving late payment of players' salaries.
According to the secretary of the players' union FUSA, Taelo Motloung, a Motsepe Foundation Championship side, whom he preferred not to name, failed to pay half of their squad salaries on time for the month of November.
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"By the 9th of this month [Monday], they had not paid a few of their players, and it was mostly their senior players," Motloung revealed, in conversation with KickOff.com.
"The worst part is nobody was talking to the players to address the situation. There was no communication, nothing.
"I tried calling the club's technical director, but he ignored my calls. Almost half of the team had not been paid. They only got paid after the 9th.
"South African clubs don't respect players' contracts. Not all clubs, but most of them. As a club, communicate with your players, these are human beings.
"These are family men who need to plan for Christmas, and it's December now. There is a lot their families are expecting from them, and they have bills to pay.
"Children want Christmas clothes, parents want to pay school fees. A lot is happening during this time of the year... but it seems the club doesn't care about their wellbeing.
"Tomorrow they will be blaming FUSA when it's them who are avoiding our calls. Some people are heartless," he says.
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Motloung added that if clubs "doesn't do the right thing", as a union they will be left with no choice but to defend their members.
"We will protect their rights. We can't just keep quiet when such things are happening."
A source at the club in question has indicated to this website that the affected players have indeed been paid and that the complaint has since been resolved.