BLOEMFONTEIN Celtic fans have vowed to continue boycotting their club’s home matches if their grievances are not resolved by chairman Max Tshabalala.
Celtic’s National Supporters Club chairman Mabena Pule told SunSport they have given management two days to respond to a litany of grievances raised at a meeting on Tuesday. Siwelele management have taken a financial strain, which forced coach Steve Komphela to resign, while players have invariably embarked on strike over unpaid salaries.
Key among the fans’ concerns, which kept them away from Celtic’s league game against Golden Arrows (1-1) on Sunday, are:
- The current financial state of the team.
- The leakage of Steve Komphela’s resignation letter, and how to prevent the same from happening again in future.
- Steps taken by management to ensure players are paid regularly and on time.
- Management to put an end to the maladministration which dents the club’s image.
Said Mabena: “I’m happy that our meeting went well. We’ve presented issues that forced us to boycott the last match and management have promised to come with solutions within the next two days. If they don’t, then we will be left with no choice but to stay away from our home matches. I mean, that decision lies with the supporters. But we don’t want to see the matter drag on. We want everything to get back to normal while we continue supporting our team.”
Mabena revealed that supporters have opened a trust fund, hoping to buy their beloved club one day and avoid it being sold outside Bloemfontein. The club is still up for sale as Tshabalala struggles to find a buyer around Free State province.
“We have started a trust fund with Absa and we have been putting the money away as part of our programme of action. We hope to buy it one day.”