Zimpapers Logo

Tafadzwa Rusike

Sports Reporter
CHAMPIONS CAPS United have revealed that midfielder Tafadzwa Rusike will remain on their pay roll until the end of his contract on December 31 even though the two parties have parted company.

The Green Machine barred Rusike from attending their training sessions until the end of the year as a disciplinary measure. CAPS United are unhappy that the midfielder misrepresented the club by going to acquire a top-of-the-range vehicle when he had been asked to get a car that suited the amount the club had set aside for that.

The vehicle which Rusike acquired, a silver Mercedes Benz E-Class, was more than four times the amount the club had set aside for him.

Attempts by the club to repossess the vehicle have failed as Rusike has been saying he has since sold the car to a third party.

The car caused fissures at Makepekepe with other players, who have been contributing more to the club’s cause than Rusike, saying their efforts were being overlooked by the club’s management.

“It was about principle, not the money really, and you can’t buy trust and that is the reason why the relationship was broken,’’ a CAPS United official said.

“It’s a sensitive issue but there are things that you can’t do to your employer and hope to get away with even if you are the best player in the squad.

“The management has to be seen to be setting the right example that there are lines that should never be crossed and Fire (Rusike) crossed that line and it’s very unfortunate that the issue has now spilled into the media.

“The job of the management is to ensure that the whole squad feels their efforts are being appreciated and while contracts differ, it didn’t make sense that a player who has played about six games all season should be rewarded like this while those who have been there week in and week out should not get the same treatment.

“It’s sad that it has come to this because he is a good player but he wasn’t making a contribution and that has worked against him and to say that the car has since been sold is an insult to some of us who were trying to help him and shows he was up to no good from the first day.’’

Rusike didn’t attend CAPS United’s training session yesterday.

“The club will pay him his salary until December because that is what the contract says but he won’t be allowed to train with them team because he is no longer part of our plans,’’ said the official.

“But, given what has happened, there might be some calculations like what he was supposed to earn, until December, and the bill for the car which the club now has to take care of with the difference, should there be any, going towards his salary.’’

CAPS United are on the road this week and face a tricky battle against Hwange at the Colliery tomorrow before they take on Ngezi Platinum Stars in Mhondoro in a Chibuku Super Cup first round tie on Sunday.

The Green Machine officials had wanted the midweek match to be played today, to give their players time to rest after the long trip to the Colliery, but the PSL leadership turned down their appeal.