Richards Bay FC owner and chairman Sifiso “Jomo” Biyela has dismissed stories that he offered Rulani Mokwena a head coach job at his club after the mentor’s highly publicised exit at Mamelodi Sundowns.
Speaking to Metro FM’s Sports Night Amplified with Andile Ncube in July, Mokwena confirmed he turned down a lucrative job offer from the Natal Rich Boyz.
His reason was he couldn’t stay in South Africa and go up against Sundowns as a coach, hence he joined Wydad Athletic Club of Morocco.
However, speaking to Ncube on Tuesday in what was a heated interview, Biyela denied ever courting.
“I never had a conversation with Rulani Mokwena, if he had a conversation (about joining Richards Bay) it was with someone else and not me,” Biyela said.
“He must tell you, he never had a conversation with me in terms of a contract.”
𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆 🤝
Thanks to Nsingizini Hotspurs FC 🇸🇿 for a great practice match this morning at Siyabonga Sangweni Sport Complex in Dondotha.#NatalRichBoyZ pic.twitter.com/l8FcrKqzJp
— Richards Bay FC (@RichardsBayFC_) August 6, 2024
Biyela said Mokwena spoke to someone he knows about joining the KwaZulu-Natal side, but that person didn’t do so at his behest.
The chairman said he had no reason to speak to Mokwena as he was happy with Vusumuzi Vilakazi as the head coach.
But now Vilakazi and Bay have parted ways, with the coach citing unreasonable demands by the management forced him out of the club.
He said the club wanted to insert a clause to achieve eight points after every five games.
“We had a contract that both of us had signed with the chairman, I think three or four weeks ago, he signed, and I signed, and Mike (Makaab) is my representative and Mike was there as well,” Vilakazi told Ncube.
“I think three or four days ago there was another contract that the club said I must sign. When I looked at the contract, it was the same contract as the one I had signed, but it was now amended.
“There was a performance clause that was introduced (in the second contract). I think also the contract was one year, which is twelve months, but this one had an option.
“There was also a (clause) that if we find ourselves terminating, how much they will give me or how many months,” Vilakazi said.
“The bottom line is that was another contract and I refused to sign that contract because initially we had a contract that was signed between the two of us.”
While Vilakazi said the eight points from five games were reachable, he felt the club was not being realistic with their ambitions.
“But the problem is that when you are putting such a clause, you need to be realistic as well,” Vilakazi said.
“I’m making an example to you now, I’m playing Chiefs, Sundowns, Pirates, Stellenbosch and SuperSport, then we have to look at the fixture and be realistic in saying here we can get three points, maybe here a draw.”
Biyela expressed disappointment about the coach’s decision to talk about some things in the media rather than raising them internally.
“The issue of the contract that they call the first contract, it was never a contract but a proposal of a contract,” Biyela said.
