Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter on Friday described a report that he had ”quit” as coach of the South African national soccer team as a ”complete fabrication”.
”I suppose if you can’t sell newspapers with factual reports,” he added, ”you have to resort to fiction.”
Baxter struggled to maintain his bearings while taking a stroll on the Port Elizabeth beachfront on Friday afternoon, with the Windy City’s infamous gale-force conditions at full force.
But what truly threatened to blow his mind was the Johannesburg newspaper report proclaiming he had already ”quit” his position as Bafana coach — and would make an official announcement to this effect immediately after the Nelson Mandela Cup game against Senegal on Saturday.
Baxter said he had already received an apology over the article about his future with Bafana that appeared under the headline ”I quit”.
”I have had quite a bit of experience in South Africa in the past of certain newspapers inventing stories about me,” he added, ”and this is simply just another example.”
Baxter, however, did not minimise the undercurrent of uncertainty that exists over his ongoing tenure as Bafana coach, despite the fact that he has a contract that extends until the middle of next year and is inclusive of the African Nations Cup tournament in Egypt in January and February.
”I have submitted a letter to Safa [the South African Football Association] outlining the shortcomings that pertain within the Bafana structure at this time and have indicated how I expect them to be corrected,” he added. ”The ball is now basically in their court.”
He denied, however, that a London-based attorney was already in South Africa negotiating a settlement with Safa.
”I do not have a laywer either in South Africa or in London,” he added, ”but some papers clearly follow the principle of not letting the facts get into the way of a good story.”
Baxter said some clarity on his future with Bafana could emerge next week.
”I do not believe the game against Senegal should have a bearing on the outcome,” he added. ”It certainly won’t affect my standpoint.”
Ironically, however, the approach of those on the other side of the fence at Safa could be formulated almost entirely on the outcome of what could prove for Baxter a ”date with destiny” in Port Elizabeth. — Sapa