MASERU — A training ground incident with a gun-toting man has left Matlama coach Ntebele Taole contemplating quitting.
Taole has been widely credited with engineering Matlama’s good start to the season. Matlama went top of the Vodacom Premier League table after thumping Butha-Buthe Roses 5-1 on Saturday.
But Taole was involved in a scuffle with a gunman, who came to the team’s training ground three weeks ago and interfered with the team’s training session. The man — according to Taole — took one of the soccer balls being used by the players and refused to give it back, leading to the fracas.
Taole, who said the man later turned out to be an off-duty policeman, is so disturbed by the incident — which highlights lack of security at football grounds — he is considering leaving Matlama.
The 56-year-old mentor has been associated with Matlama over the past 30 years.
“You could see that he came here with bad intentions,” a shaken Taole said.
“Life is too short. At the end of the day, this is just a game and one cannot lose their life over it. It has made me wonder whether I should continue with the team.”
Taole said he did not report the incident to the police.
