Black Rhinos have castigated Dynamos for their “big brother attitude” after they reportedly offered a contract to striker Eli Ilunga, who is still on the army side’s books.
Speaking to NewsDay, Black Rhinos secretary-general Colonel Edward Mutukwa said Dynamos should learn to respect other clubs. He said:
They are exhibiting a big brother attitude which we find annoying.
Granted, Eli’s contract is expiring at the end of the year, but they (Dynamos) should have had the courtesy to contact us.
But what did they do, they went ahead and negotiated with the player and even offered him a contract.
They have already signed a pre-contract agreement with the player. It shows they are disrespectful to the institution called Black Rhinos, which is very unfortunate.
The problem is we have teams that think Black Rhinos is a training ground for them. We are not.
Rhinos signed Ilunga as a free agent after he was deemed surplus to requirements at FC Platinum in 2020.
His career was reinvigorated at Rhinos and he scored 11 goals for the club last. He finished fourth in the race for the Golden Boot award, which was eventually won by William Manondo of CAPS United.
Col. Mutukwa said they had withheld December salaries for players who had signed pre-contract agreements with other clubs. He said:
We are not paying salaries for players who are in pre-contractual agreements with other clubs.
These players should learn to respect the institutions to which they are attached.
They are being misled by the so-called player agents, most of who can’t even afford to buy soccer boots for the players.
Ilunga flopped at FC Platinum and we took him in, loved him and gave him a chance and is this how he want to thank us? We are not happy at all.
Ilunga is being managed by former Dynamos goalkeeper Ephraim Mazarura.
He has already approached the Footballers Union of Zimbabwe (FUZ) to force Black Rhinos to release his December salary. | NewsDay