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Johannesburg - Former Maritzburg United coach Ian Palmer says he has approached lawyers after being sacked by the club last week.
The Premiership club said Palmer was fired after requesting time off during the season to attend a level three pro licence coaching course. He had also asked for financial assistance.
"The reason I left Maritzburg is because I realised the importance of doing the course in order to improve my skills as a coach," Palmer said on Monday.
"There is a lot that I will learn from the course with regards to the tactics and technical aspects of the game. As for my case with Maritzburg, I have left that to my representatives who will deal with them legally."
Serame Letsoaka, the SA Football Association's technical director, said it was vital for local coaches to equip themselves through the available courses.
"The level three pro licensing course that we have introduced will help coaches in many aspects of the game," Letsoaka said.
"We are very happy to see so many coaches showing interest in it."
Among the coaches who started the level three course in Pretoria on Monday were Free State Stars mentor Steve Komphela and Kaizer Chiefs assistant Ace Khuse.
SAFA said the course would take approximately 70 days to complete, with two weeks set aside this month for the first module.
Maritzburg United said in a statement last week that chairman Farouk Kadodia had met Palmer to express his concern at the amount of his time the course would consume for the remainder of the season.
"The club has made every effort to prevail upon Palmer not to act in this fashion, but rather to comply with the contract," Maritzburg said.
"But those efforts have been treated with a distinct lack of respect or regard for the requirements of professional football."
United are 11th in the Premiership standings with four wins from 15 games.
