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Cape Town - Emile Baron will be taking the legal route if Bidvest Wits do not pay for a leg operation for an injury that eventually ended his career.
The former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper retired in 2013 following a career-ending tackle. Baron was compensated R400 000 from the PSL's insurance, but according to him, that fell way short of what he was supposed to receive.
The initial operation did not fix the problem and the 40-year-old now needs a metal rod inserted inside his leg and for all the bone marrow to be drilled out.
"First we are trying to get Wits to help with the operation that has to be done on my leg," Baron tells KickOff.com.
"Yeah, that is what we are trying to get from the people there (at Wits). They are saying they are not responsible. So, the [South African Football] Players Union, that's the first thing they want to get done, so Wits can pay for my operation. Wits haven't got back to us as yet.
"We spoke to Jonathan (Schloss) and obviously with the PSL regarding the insurance. So, it's just about one thing at a time. First the operation, then we'll do the PSL thing."
Meanwhile, SAFPU president Thulaganyo Gaoshubelwe says they are looking at Baron's case to see if anything else can be done.
"The boy approached us to say 'look, there was a payment' and this payment he was given this much and that's it. So, we wanted to find out exactly what's happening in terms of his own understanding, how this whole thing was unfolding," Gaoshubelwe explains.
"He brought this complaint to say, 'I think I didn't get what I deserve'. Of course, we approached the team, spoke with the team, the team gave us correspondence in terms of what was happening with that. They showed us the letter that came with the insurer to say this is where we are...
"We need to see what happens in terms of rehabilitation because the boy was supposed to undergo rehabilitation. Because once you are injured as a player, part of the process was for you to attend rehabilitation... where are we? What happened? What went wrong?
"We are reviewing the decisions that have already been taken or implemented, to see how best we can assist the young man. Once we have all the facts as we want them, we will make a statement to say this is where we are. The League is not hostile towards us at this particular point in terms of this thing."
Wits official Jonathan Schloss could not be reached for comment.
- TeamTalk Media
