Players from both Dynamos and CAPS United refused to train on Tuesday, July 9th, and there are concerns they may boycott their upcoming matches if the clubs fail to pay them their owed salaries and fees.
Dynamos is scheduled to host Highlanders at Rufaro Stadium, while CAPS United will be playing away at Luveve Stadium against Chicken Inn on Sunday, in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League.
The Herald reported that CAPS United players are yet to receive their salaries for June and some of the players are still owed their signing-on fees.
When the CAPS United players arrived for training at the Standard Chartered Sports Club, they put on their training bibs but then refused to participate in the session.
Club CEO Morton Dodzo attempted to address the players, but they maintained their stance and did not train.
In an interview with Zimpapers Sports, Dodzo confirmed the strike, saying the club would settle the dues within the next two days. He said:
I can confirm we had a stand-off with players and there are two outstanding issues. We haven’t paid salaries for June.
I wouldn’t want to take that issue as outstanding since June salaries are due and we need to pay. We regret having been delayed though we are working on them.
I feel the reports coming out in the media are exaggerated because our situation is not as bad as they are expressing it.
The second issue is on signing on fees. The club owes signing-on fees to different individuals, and that is not a group issue it’s an individual issue based on the contract.
Starting on Monday we will be calling individuals and start settling issues. I also want to dispel rumours that we owe players winning bonuses.
We are so fortunate that our directors were directing resources in time. So, the issue of signing on fees is the key issue, but I would want to assure key stakeholders that we are working on it and payments will be done as soon as possible.
This stand-off would not put our game against Chicken Inn in jeopardy. We can’t accept a standoff, even after assuring that the money is being processed and still, they fail to train but we have received assurance from the captain that the team will start to train tomorrow (today).
However, some players who spoke to Zimpapers Sports said they will not train until the money (both salaries and sign-on fees) is paid.
Across town, DeMbare players staged a sit-in on Monday and didn’t show up on Tuesday morning as they had been told to report at work at 2 PM.
However, the training time was later changed to 4 PM. Despite this adjustment, by 5:30 PM on Tuesday, none of the Dynamos players had taken to the field for the training session.
More: Pindula News