Amaglug-glug will be missing the services of arguably the country’s best player at the moment
South Africa national Under-23 coach David Notoane has revealed that Percy Tau will not be travelling to July’s Tokyo Olympic Games after his club Brighton and Hove Albion declined to release him.
Tau has been earmarked to be one of the overaged players in Notoane’s squad for the games that run from July 23 to August 8, together with defender Thibang Phete whose Portugiese Primeira club Belenenses SAD also refused to release him.
Amaglug-glug are in Group A together with hosts Japan, Mexico and France.
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“It is off-season, some of the players were really willing and committed to the process when we started,” Notoane told Marawa Sport Worldwide on Metro FM and Radio 2000.
“But coming to the end of the season you find out there are a lot of issues the players had to navigate like fatigue. The issue of the foreign-based players like Percy Tau, the club wrote that they are not going to release him. We also have Sphephelo Sithole whose club [Belenenses SAD] has also indicated that they won’t release him.
“Thibang Phete is also one player we were really looking to bring in and give us stability in defence but his club also relente, saying they won’t release him. We also have Khanya Leshabela [Leicester City].
“Remember these clubs are not obliged as per Fifa rules to release these players, hence we are allowed to register 50 players. So clubs are taking advantage of that situation. We tried to engage them, negotiate and navigate.”
However, the Portugal-based duo of Luther Singh and Lyle Foster have been allowed by their respective clubs to be in Japan.
After reports that Tau could be loaned out again by Brighton, the attacker is said to be keen to report for pre-season and convince manager Graham Potter that he deserves to stay.
“The scenario before us and to give a clearer picture, some of the players are entering the final year of their respective contracts. So the clubs are putting pressure on them to prove that they are worth being given new contracts,” said Notoane.
“When we engage the players, they have put their case forward. In as much as you want to push for them to be available, you also think of the long-term benefits of these players being able to play at the highest level; your Premier League, your Portugal Primeira Liga to benefit Bafana Bafana.
“Percy is a prime example why we engaged with Brighton and the feedback was that the club was putting pressure on him, saying ‘come for pre-season, be with us during pre-season, prove your worth and earn your place in the core group and then you are good to go.’
“So Percy is faced with a situation where he is asking ‘do I go to the Olympics or stay with the club and fight for my place and prove to the coach?’ We had a very long conversation with him and it came to that.”
Notoane revealed that the overaged players he will travel with are Cape Town City’s Abbubaker Mobara and Maritzburg United forward Thabiso Kutumela who were at the Rio Olympics as well as SuperSport United goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
At the last edition, Itumeleng Khune and Erick Mthoho were accommodated into the squad as overaged players.
