Johannesburg - Until January 14, you'd have had to know your football inside out for the name Clifton Miheso to be familiar. But since the alleged thuggery that took place at Golden Arrows sometime last month, with the Kenyan midfielder claiming he was held at gunpoint and forced to agree to the termination of his contract with the club, the domestic football fraternity is well aware of his existence now.
Whether Miheso has made up these accusation or not, there needs to be a proper investigation. It’s not enough that Arrows have come out to deny the player was called into chief executive Gordon Masondo’s office and told to sign himself into poverty under the barrel of a gun - the rebuff was expected.
The custodians of football, the Premier Soccer League and Safa, should break their silence on this matter because, let’s be honest, the SA Football Players’ Union (Safpu) is only going to make cheap noise until this serious allegation quietly goes away.
Miheso is back in Kenya and his sordid tale has made headlines here in South Africa and in his home country. The only racket being made by Safpu and the like, organisations that claim to protect the interests of footballers, is that they are “urging” Safa and the PSL to investigate.
I, too, would like to join the chorus. But I am not calling for an investigation because I think Miheso will be vindicated. It is important for Safa and the PSL to preserve the integrity of the country’s football administrators, especially if none of this is true.
I read recently that Arrows were desperate to free up a spot for a foreign player, so Miheso was the unfortunate victim despite featuring in 11 of his side’s 15 league matches before he was eventually sent packing.
The fact that they signed Chiukepo Msowoya not long after obviously gives these allegations some credibility. Perhaps I am jumping the gun and Safa and the PSL are already collaborating in trying to address this as quickly as possible, but to not have said a word nearly four weeks after the supposed incident is quite strange.
Both organisations have the resources to have gathered enough information to make a public statement. However, if Miheso’s allegations are proven to hold any weight, then we would have taken several steps backwards in continuing to grow the PSL brand to what it is today.
The deafening silence suggests no one really cares that a 24-year-old footballer from Kenya arrived in this country full of hope that he would one day emulate his compatriot Vincent Wanyama, who has become one of the biggest personalities in that country with his Nairobi to White Hart Lane story and is a key member of a Tottenham Hotspur side that is chasing the English Premier League title this season.
Not for a second did it cross Miheso’s mind that his contract would be ended abruptly, with him being told to agree to the termination under duress - if all of this is true. For years now, the PSL has become a destination of choice for many footballers in neighbouring countries. To preserve this, Miheso’s claims need to be proven beyond doubt that they were really just allegations.
@superjourno
@extrastrongsa