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Johannesburg - Matthew Booth has slammed Mamelodi Sundowns' ethics after being dismissed from the club following a five-minute meeting.
The towering centre-back was ruled out of the final weeks of the 2010/11 PSL campaign through injury, and soon after was informed in a one-man meeting with club CEO Kenneth Makhanya that his contract would not be renewed.
"They told me they would not extend my contract in a meeting that lasted five minutes and only one person was there, the CEO of the club, Makhanya," a clearly frustrated Booth told the Sowetan.
"I still have a good three to four years of top-level football in me. I have a problem with the ethics here, to say the least."
The Bafana Bafana defender then went on to reveal that soon after receiving the news he was contacted by Downs' lawyers offering him a job in management at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.
He continued: "But 10 days later, Downs came back to me through their lawyers and basically wanted to know if I was interested in having a long-term relationship with the club.
"But due to the way they treated me, it was not right.
"My biggest problem with them is that they could have at least offered me the team's medical staff to help me get better, bearing in mind that I was injured while playing for them. They should have extended my contract for three months until I was ready to play. Instead they took a decision to get rid of me without letting the new head coach have a look at me. I don't think that was correct.
"They have now put me in a bad position to try and find another club. But I have learned to prepare myself for such similar situations in future."
The towering centre-back was ruled out of the final weeks of the 2010/11 PSL campaign through injury, and soon after was informed in a one-man meeting with club CEO Kenneth Makhanya that his contract would not be renewed.
"They told me they would not extend my contract in a meeting that lasted five minutes and only one person was there, the CEO of the club, Makhanya," a clearly frustrated Booth told the Sowetan.
"I still have a good three to four years of top-level football in me. I have a problem with the ethics here, to say the least."
The Bafana Bafana defender then went on to reveal that soon after receiving the news he was contacted by Downs' lawyers offering him a job in management at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.
He continued: "But 10 days later, Downs came back to me through their lawyers and basically wanted to know if I was interested in having a long-term relationship with the club.
"But due to the way they treated me, it was not right.
"My biggest problem with them is that they could have at least offered me the team's medical staff to help me get better, bearing in mind that I was injured while playing for them. They should have extended my contract for three months until I was ready to play. Instead they took a decision to get rid of me without letting the new head coach have a look at me. I don't think that was correct.
"They have now put me in a bad position to try and find another club. But I have learned to prepare myself for such similar situations in future."
