/ 8 February 1999

HOME AFFAIRS NIXES GROBBELAAR

FORMER Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar has been forced to stop coaching Cape Town club Seven Stars after just two matches owing to work permit problems. Grobbelaar, one of the most colourful characters in English football during the 1980s, cannot work in the land of his birth because he is no longer a citizen. The star, who won domestic and international honours with Liverpool, has flown to his adopted home of Zimbabwe and applied for a permit. A decision is expected soon. “We are a ship without a captain,” admitted Stars chairman Rob Moore, whose side have won only once in four matches and are fighting to avoid relegation from the Premier League.