City vs City – clubs at war over striker

A tug of war is looming between two cities – Cape Town City and Polokwane City – over striker Puleng Tlolane.

This after Cape Town City submitted documents to the Premier Soccer League for the lodgement of a contract with the player.

City Press has seen a letter from the league to both clubs alerting them to the situation.

The letter notifies the clubs that, according to the league’s registration records, Tlolane’s contract with Polokwane expires in 2019.

An angry Johnny Mogaladi, Polokwane City boss, slammed the Citizens.

“The only thing we know is that he has a contract with us. If they want to sign him, they must buy him. But he is not for sale.

“There are procedures to be followed and I will get to the bottom of this matter because, to me, it says they are undermining me. I won’t [take] it lying down,” said Mogaladi.

Tlolane (26) denied signing with the Cape side and said he had signed an affidavit to prove it.

“I was taken by surprise when they showed me the letter and I couldn’t believe it. My initial conclusion was that there could have been a misunderstanding as there is another Tlolane at Jomo Cosmos. But this document has all my names, which has left me confused,” said the striker.

“I renewed my contract last year and I have never signed with anyone else.”

Cape Town City boss John Comitis did not respond to questions sent to his email, nor to a message left on his cellphone.

PSL media officer Luxolo September said the internal records of the league were confidential.

“What we can say is that registration and lodgement are two very distinct process. For a player to be registered, there must be compliance with all the aspects of the league handbook.

“The rule requires the provision of a clearance certificate (and other information of course) from a player’s former (or current if he is released) club before a player can be registered with a new club [sic],” said September in a detailed response.

He added that clubs were permitted to lodge contracts, and “generally do so to avoid disputes later about when a contract was signed”.

“When a club seeks to lodge, that does not mean, and may never mean, that it is entitled to register the player. If there is a current enforceable contract in place, that contract remains valid and there will not be any possibility of the player being registered with any new club.”

He said there could be grounds for a case of misconduct should two contracts have been signed.