Neal Collins
soccer
Shaun Bartlett is the latest South African to face a major club versus country dispute following his Man of the Match performance for Charlton against Newcastle on Sunday. Bartlett, currently on loan from FC Zurich, scored one and made the other for Matthias Svensson at The Valley in a rousing 2-0 win. But all the little Capetonian has done apart from enhance his reputation in Europe is put pressure on himself with a performance of all-round class. Charlton boss Alan Curbishley, who signed Bartlett knowing full well that his nippy little front man would face international calls from Bafana Bafana, now says: “Shaun has already missed games for us and now we face losing him again. “It is a very difficult situation for the players, the countries and the clubs.”
Curbishley claims he has had talks with South African officials and says Bartlett, who scored the only goal against Burkina Faso a fortnight ago, will be allowed to put club before country when the next World Cup qualifier comes up against Malawi. He says: “I know the South African FA have already spoken to Leeds about Lucas Radebe’s position, because he is obviously a very experienced and?influential figure for them. “But we have got their captain and we needed to have a chat with them about the situation. They have got World Cup qualifiers coming up but the whole thing is detrimental to the players’ careers. “I don’t know how they can allow them to play in certain games, but it is up to them how they want to change it. “Football clubs know the problems when they sign these kind of players, but I think the whole situation could be a lot easier. “We will just have to wait and see what their association decides to do. Shaun is a household name in South Africa and very influential for them but I would hope a compromise could be reached.” Curbishley wants Bartlett on hand for the Coventry game on February 24 not off playing against Malawi and he knows the club’s push for Europe will be further hampered when Bartlett misses two more games in March. Expect South Africa to suffer.