DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA – AUGUST 06: Bobby Motaung during the DStv Premiership match between Kaizer Chiefs and Chippa United at Moses Mabhida Stadium on August 06, 2023 in Durban, South Africa. (Photo by Darren Stewart/Gallo Images)
After the heartbreak of a failed transfer to Kaizer Chiefs, former Golden Arrows midfielder Papi Zothwane has revealed what was happening behind the scenes.
After the heartbreak of a failed transfer to Kaizer Chiefs, former Golden Arrows midfielder Papi Zothwane has revealed what was happening behind the scenes.
Zothwane was signed by Chiefs ahead of the 2006/07 season, supposedly as a free agent from Arrows. However, the nimble-footed midfielder could not officially kick a ball in Amakhosi colours, after it was alleged that he had signed two contracts with two clubs.
The Vanderbijlpark-born playmaker was alleged to have signed a contract extension with Abafana Bes’thende and his matter appeared before the PSL Disciplinary Committee.
After a long drawn out saga, the PSL DC announced that Zothwane pleaded guilty to signing two contracts and he returned to Arrows.
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The Glamour Boys attempted to negotiate a transfer fee, with the addition of a player moving to the KwaZulu-Natal side but both clubs could not come to an agreement and the deal fell through.
Zothwane, 18 years later, has opened up on the matter.
“What happened at Arrows while Mr Madlala was still there, when you got a salary increase, you sign. Your excitement is that your salary is increasing. I signed a three year contract and I knew it would end 2006,” Zothwane said on Junior Khanye Khohlwa YouTube Channel.
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“Bobsteak [Bobby Motaung] told me ‘Hey baba we want you!’ I told myself, here is the thing I’ve always wanted! I met with them [Chiefs people] and I signed. When I returned, Manqoba Mngqithi said to me, ‘Hey baba, tell me, did you sign or not at Chiefs?’ I said, ‘I didn’t sign’. He said, ‘There’s guy who told me he saw you [at Chiefs]. I denied it. It was January, my contract was ending in June.
“I was looking forward [to playing at Chiefs]. After some time, Bobsteak said to me, ‘There’s a problem, they say you have a contract there [at Arrows]’. The contract said I had two years [left]. The contract they said I had did not show salary increase and when I looked at the signature, I didn’t recognize it. It was contested. They eventually told me I lost the case. I returned to Arrows but I know the truth of what happened, I found out later when I moved on that ‘Oh, this is what happened’. The guy [Mr Madlala] used to like me a lot and used to tell the guys that, ‘No, I’m not a development for Chiefs, for him to go like that without me getting anything, they’ll have to wait, worst part Chiefs’. He was a Pirates supporter,” Zothwane revealed.
Zothwane was eventually signed by Mamelodi Sundowns in 2009.
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