adminfriendly against Bafana Bafana have been thrown into doubt with the Urban Warriors threatening not to release the players allegedly because of late notification from Zifa.
The Warriors will resume their rivalry with their southern neighbours when they square off against Bafana Bafana at Rufaro next Tuesday.
It will be one of South Africa’s two assignments inside the Fifa week of international friendlies with Bafana Bafana taking on Africa’s best team – Cote d’Ivoire – in Port Elizabeth on Saturday before flying out to Harare.
Bafana Bafana have already begun camp for their two assignments while the Warriors are, according to their team manager Shariff Mussa, expected to begin trooping in on Sunday night.
But it is the availability of the midfield pair of Billiat and Rusike that has now been thrown into doubt amid threats by Ajax Cape Town that they will not be releasing the Warriors pair.
Urban Warriors team manger Max Grunewald claimed yesterday that Ajax Cape Town were still to receive formal communication from Zifa requesting the release of the players.
“We have not received an official call up request yet and Zifa are once again late in requesting for those players release for next week’s game.
“In terms of the Fifa regulations the association should request for the players at least 10 days before the game but up to now they have not done so.
“So, therefore this time we will not release our players.
“I have been communicating this to your association every time there is a call up but they are still always late in submitting the letters of request.
“It is not nice for clubs to read in the newspapers that our players have been called up, there is need for Zifa to be organised and in future they should learn to send the release letters on time,”
Grunewald said.
Ajax Cape Town, however, do not appear to have had any problems with the South African Football Association over their Bafana Bafana players with the club’s website yesterday confirming that: “Granwald Scott and George Maluleka have reported for duty at the Bafana camp ahead of their friendly against Ivory Coast in Port Elizabeth”.
Despite his club threatening to hold onto him, Rusike had already been a major doubt for the game amid revelations that the former CAPS United winger is battling against time to recover from a knee injury.
Rusike received a serious knock on his knee following a rough tackle he got from a teammate during training in Cape Town.
“I had been given four weeks to recover when I got injured after I was tackled from behind at training but I have started jogging again and I am hopeful I will be fit again by next week.
“I have already missed our last three games because of the injury,” Rusike said.
It was not immediately clear last night whether coach Norman Mapeza would name replacements should Ajax Cape Town stick to their guns and hold onto Billiat and Rusike and bar them from travelling to Harare.
Mapeza named a 20-man side on Monday in which skipper Method Mwanjali was surprise omission from the squad that has been doing regular duty under the former Monomotapa coach’s Warriors tenure.
The Warriors coach will also be hoping that none of the local contingent that he named in the squad will pick up serious knocks during today’s Premiership fixtures as well as Sunday’s penultimate round of the league assignments.
Mapeza named the Dynamos quartet of Washington Arubi, Denver Mukamba, Archieford Gutu and Cuthbert Malajila while CAPS United weighed in with Tapiwa Khumbuyani and FC Platinum have centre back Daniel Veremu.
Online Reporter