Saintfiet told to go

On yet another dramatic day in the soap opera that has characterised the 37-year-old coach’s stay in Zimbabwe, Saintfiet was advised of the order while conducting an afternoon training session with the Warriors at the National Sports Stadium’s B arena. Assistant regional immigration officer Mr Evans Siziba confirmed the order last night and revealed that Saintfiet had already breached the country’s laws by starting his duties before securing the necessary papers that enable him to do so.

“We have ordered him to leave the country while his application for a work permit is being proce-ssed,’’ Mr Siziba said.
Mr Siziba said Zifa had finally submitted an application for Saintfiet’s work permit yesterday and the immigration department would now look at it.

“What we can confirm is that we have since received an application for a work permit for Tom Saintfiet at 4:55pm today.
“Even then, we had already advised the Zifa officials that he should leave the country because that is what the law says.

“He has already tampered with the law and to us he should leave by tonight,’’ Mr Siziba said.
It later emerged that Saintfiet would have to fly out this morning as he missed the flights that left for South Africa last night.

The order by the Department of Immigration also forced members of the Zifa board into a flurry of meetings that spilled into late last night as they made last-ditch efforts to save Saintfiet from being ejected.
But with the Department of Immigration already irked by the fact that the coach had breached their rules and regulations, it is highly unlikely that they would be in the mood to compromise.
With acting Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashi-ngaidze and some Zifa board members still locked up in a meeting, it could not be established what arra-ngements the association had made in light of the directive by the immigration authorities.

“Some Zifa officials are still locked up in a meeting to see if they can make any arrangements to save the situation, but it is highly unlikely that whatever they will do will save Tom.
“Even if he does stay on, Tom will not be on the bench when Zimbabwe play against Cape Verde on Sunday.

“In terms of the order that was issued, Tom was actually meant to catch a South Africa-bound flight at 7pm as he would have to reside outside Zimbabwe while his permit was being considered.
“He needs to regularise his papers while residing outside the country and just like any other application, it can either be accepted or rejected depending on the merits and demerits of the application,’’ said a source close to the saga.

It also emerged that the Sport and Recreation Commission has also written to the association seeking an explanation on the circumstances surrounding Saintfiet’s appointment.
The Sports Commission is understood to be seeking a full report on how Zifa were handling the appointment of an expatriate coach and whether the soccer mother body had “failed to find locals with suitable or higher qualifications before settling for a foreigner,’’ said sources close to the saga.

As it became clear that the Department of Immigration were not treating the matter lightly Mashingaidze, who was also facing the wrath of the law in his capacity as Zifa chief executive, drove to the Warriors training ground to advise Saintfiet of his predicament.
Saintfiet had for much of the day been in a jovial mood despite earlier being ordered by Zifa authorities to cancel, at the last minute, a media conference that had been scheduled for the Warriors hotel at 2pm yesterday.

The Belgian had wanted to use the media conference to discuss the Warriors’ 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Cape Verde at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.
All seemed to be in order for Saintfiet who also conducted the morning session at the giant stadium and had seen his squad completed following the arrivals in the afternoon of the former Highlanders pair of Obadiah Tarumbwa and Noel Kaseke, who are based in Cyprus.

The duo’s arrival took to 26 the number of troops the Warriors have in camp. But the order and the tranquillity that had prevailed at the morning session changed midway through the afternoon training the moment that Mashingaidze broke the news to Saintfiet of the order against him. That order also naturally affected Lutz Pfannenstiel who had been roped in by Saintfiet to be one of the goalkeepers’ coaches.
Pfannenstiel was also at the National Sports Stadium. But after Mashingaidze had broken the news, the sight of the expatriate pair and assistant coach Madinda Ndlovu leaving the B arena in a huff driving off told a story of men who were in trouble.

The former Namibian goalkeepers’ coach had been working with Richard Tswatswa in taking the goalkeeping quartet of Washington Arubi, Timothy Sibanda, Tapuwa Kapini and Edmore Sibanda through their drills. The developments at the Warriors training also appeared to leave the players dumbfounded, as they were not so clear on what was going.
But it is hoped that amid the drama over their new coach, the Warriors will remain focused on the tricky assignment against a Cape Verde side that edged into top spot in Group A after their surprise 1-0 win over Mali on the opening weekend of the qualifiers on September 4.

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