Sporting Beira players occupy club store demanding payment of overdue wages

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Sporting Beira players occupy club store demanding payment of overdue wages

12:39 CAT | 02 Nov 2017

Diário de Moçambique

A group of Sporting Beira players occupied the store of club president Rachid Ravate on Monday demanding payment of seven months’ salary arrears. The manager called the police to restore order.

The invasion was confirmed by the athletes at a meeting with candidates for the next community election.

The incident happened when the athletes demanded that Ravate come out of his shop and discuss the delay in payment of their wages. When he refused the athletes occupied the premises, forcing the “Lions” boss to request a police presence to remove the players.

Details were made public yesterday by team captain, Félix, during a meeting with the Alfredo Valentine, candidate for the top job of Sporting Beira.

Felix said the players did not want to hurt anyone, and only intended to collect the seven months of salary arrears, but the boss’s reaction was not the best, leading athletes to occupy the store to reinforce their demands.

“What happened on Monday at the shop was regrettable. We called him to come out but he refused. We were forced to go in without his consent and he had to call the police to remove us. We are suffering. Seven months we haven’t received our salary. In fact, since I started the season this year we haven’t been paid. We no longer know who to turn to and that’s why we went to the store,” he said.

“We asked him to do the reckoning at the end of the month, but he refused. We are adrift, with unpaid rent and other debts. One of our colleagues was arrested for being in debt. I don’t know what will become of us,” he said.

Some players said their wives had left them because of their failure to comply with their obligations as heads of the family.

“My wife left me because there is hunger in my house, and returned to her parents. There was no peace at home for lack of money to pay for the expenses. I’m tired of asking my brother help and he has had enough too. Seven months now with the leadership of the club taking us for fools, and many of the players say they won’t be playing here next year because of this behavior,” Pai said.

Pombo said his life was getting worse by the day for lack of money. “I was kicked out of the house where I lived and my girlfriend left me. We are perceived as leeches, but we are not. We have not received wages since arriving at the club in the transfer window. I didn’t know that my colleagues had already had this problem for a long time,” he said.

By PETROCE JÚNIOR

Source: Diário de Moçambique