Moorosi Tsiane
SOUTH African national Innocent Ncala Matlapeng says he was shocked to be handed his clearance by Econet Premier League side, Kick4Life last month after only one season with the club.
Matlapeng joined the Old Europa outfit on a one-year deal at the beginning of the 2019/20 season from Free State Stars MultiChoice team.
The lanky defender was an integral part of the squad before he was ruled out due to an injury a few games into the second round before his fallout with the then coach, Katiso Mojakhomo.
Matlapeg was released along with two of his countrymen, Teboho Ramothobi (defender) and Nkopane Tabi (midfielder).
“I had a good first season playing in Lesotho and every moment of it,” Matlapeng said.
“I was actually shocked when Kick4Life handed me my clearance informing me that they would not be renewing my contract.
“There is no bad blood between me and the management so it shocked me. I wasn’t expecting to leave.”
Matlapeng said some local teams have shown interest in him before the Covid-19 induced break but he was no longer sure if they were still interested.
“Now I am just waiting for the completion of the league season. Hopefully by the time teams start preparing for the 2020/21 season I will have a clearer picture.”
On his fallout with Mojakhomo, Matlapeng said he only heard rumours from his teammates that and Mojakhomo thought he had “sold” a game to Bantu.
“I was shocked to hear that the coach was suspecting that I had sold the game to Bantu when we lost 5-0. I had played been forced to play two games despite being injured and I gave my all. I was really disappointed to hear my teammates tell me what the coach thought.
“Shortly after that match, I then suffered a knee injury which kept me out for few weeks but upon my return, I was told that he was giving other players a chance. He never said anything about his match fixing suspicions to my face,” Matlapeng said.
