Leeds and the South African Football Association are fighting over defender Lucas Radebe. Radebe missed Leeds’ UEFA Cup match Thursday and will be out of league play this weekend against Aston Villa.
Although he has a reported chronic knee injury, the South
African Football Association wants Radebe for an October 13 African Nations Cup game against Burundi.
South African manager Ephraim Mashaba has accused Radebe of not being truthful about the injury and is demanding he fly home to be examined by a specialist.
Leeds manager Terry Venables offered to have Radebe examined by a specialist in England.
”I told them we would pay for a specialist in this country of their choice to check him out, or if they wanted to fly out their own man,” Venables said.
”But they’ve come back and said they want him to go, so Lucas now feels he should. I just felt there might have been a reasonable shortcut, a way to suit everybody. Now he is going to spend 10 hours flying out there and 10 hours flying back. Going in an airplane is not going to be good for him.”
Venables criticised Mashaba for saying Radebe had been
”dishonest”.
”They shouldn’t be saying some of the things which have been said. I think it’s outrageous,” Venables said.
”Everyone, the Leeds fans and the South African people, know what he is like and that he wouldn’t let anyone down.
If there’s one person you are not going to doubt then it is Lucas. What he has done over the years has been amazing. I feel very sorry for him.” – Sapa-AP