DYNAMOS Football Club chairman Keni Mubaiwa has castigated players for going on strike, demanding an increase in draw bonuses and other issues to do with their welfare without seeking dialogue with the team management.
Tawanda Tafirenyika Sports Correspondent
The players continued with their strike yesterday at their Zimphos training ground.
The Dynamos boss said the players were supposed to seek dialogue and have their grievances addressed first without going on industrial action.
He said he would not be intimidated by the strike as the players should know the channels to follow before taking such action.
“What they are doing is uncalled for. They should not try to intimidate us by going on strike. The best way to resolve issues is to have dialogue,” Mubaiwa said.
“We were together in Bulawayo for the game against Highlanders [on Saturday], but they didn’t tell us their grievances only to hear they are refusing to train. “They can’t go on strike and then seek dialogue. The problem with these players is that they always raise issues when they beat Highlanders or Caps United.”
The Dynamos chairman also refuted reports that players who were getting injured were being ignored by the executive leaving them to foot medical bills.
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“That is not true at all. We actually give bonuses for three games for every player who will have got injured. We also pay the medical bills for the player,” Mubaiwa said.
However, a source close to the team’s dressing room said the players were not happy with a number of issues concerning their welfare.
The source said players were concerned that they were still to be given their winning bonuses for the last match against Black Mambas last year when they won the league title.
“It appears there is now division among players because some of them are not being paid while others are getting paid. For example, Masimba Mambare, who got injured a while ago, is not being paid and is paying for his own medical bills,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
“They [players] are also still to be paid after their victory over Black Mambas in their last league match last season.
“The draw bonus is one of the issues, but there are so many issues concerning the welfare of players which are being ignored by the executive.
“Players like Blessing Moyo and Tatenda Mukuruva are sick right now after eating food in open places in Bulawayo.
“Players are concerned that the executive is not doing enough to look into their welfare.
“It also appears that there is division in the executive because the club secretary Webster Chikengezha is now refusing to come and address the players because sometimes what he agrees with the players others in the executive will not support.
“So, we don’t know whether the problem is coming from the players or from the leadership.”
These problems come as Dynamos face off against red-hot army side Black Rhinos in the first round of the revived Chibuku Shumba Cup at Gwanzura on Sunday.
Rhinos have, in their past five games, won three matches and drawn two, including a 1-0 victory over Bulawayo giants Highlanders two weeks ago.
They last lost a match to Dynamos on July 6 when they were beaten 2-1.
Apart from beating Highlanders, they also overcame How Mine 1-0 in back-to-back clashes in the league before holding Dynamos to a 0-0 draw at Rimuka Stadium in the reverse fixture — a result which has given them much-needed motivation going into the Chibuku Cup at the weekend.
