Chippa bow to public pressure and withdraw Eymael appointment
'The Club has considered public outrage. There was also the reputational damage caused to our brand; and that of our stakeholders, partners as well as our sponsors,' read a club statement.
Luc Eymael Pic: Chris Ricco/BackpagePix
Luc Eymael will no longer be head coach of Chippa United, after the Eastern Cape side heeded the call renege on their agreement with the Belgian, who was sacked from his last job at Yanga SC in Tanzania for comparing the club’s supporters to monkeys and dogs.
READ MORE: Safa slam Chippa for hiring ‘racist’ Eymael
The news that Chippa had appointed Eymael on Wednesday was met with outrage, with the South African Football Association issuing a statement where they called on Home Affairs not to issue Eymael with a work permit.
The Eastern Cape government then also issued their own statement on Thursday, where they strongly condemned the decision of Chippa Mpengesi and his board to appoint Eymael.
“The Eastern Cape provincial government is concerned that Chippa United Football Club has appointed Mr Luc Eymael as their Head Coach even though they know about the racist and offensive remarks he made about black people supporting his former club,” read the statement.
“South Africa is founded on principles of human dignity, achievement of equality, advancement of human rights, freedoms and non-racialism. We therefore cannot have a soccer coach who behaves in a manner that is contrary to these values.
“The racist and offensive remarks made by Mr Eymael have no place in our society and we don’t think a football club playing in our professional soccer league and a club that is financially supported by the Municipalities of the Eastern Cape government should be coached by an unrepentant racist spewing offensive and derogatory statements about other human beings.
“It is more disturbing that the owner of Chippa United Football Club, Mr Siviwe “Chippa” Mpengesi does not see anything wrong with the racist and offensive remarks made by Mr Eymael against black people who support the former club coached by Mr Eymael. Mr Mpengesi should fully understand the pain caused by racism.
“We expected him to be in the front line of fighting against racism to defend the dignity of people insulted by Mr Eymael in that racist and offensive statement he made. We welcome the statement made by the leadership of the South African Football Association regarding this matter. We will monitor this situation and developments on this matter with keen interest.”
Soon after, Chippa announced their decision to withdraw Eymael’s appointment.
“The Club would like to formally announce that it has withdrawn the appointment of Belgian, Luc Eymael,” read a club statement.
“When processes are complete, a new coaching announcement will be made in due course. After having announced Mr. Eymael’s appointment until the end of the season on Wednesday, 23 December 2020 – the Club has considered public outrage.
“There was also the reputational damage caused to our brand; and that of our stakeholders, partners as well as our sponsors. We would like to clarify that the initial decision to make this appointment was based on Mr. Eymael’s coaching track record, where we felt he was the best person to take the Club towards our desired top half finish in this DStv Premiership season.
“Outside of the written reports, there was no formal instruction – to us or to any other team- to not employ Mr. Eymael. However, as the Pride of Eastern Cape, we represent the legacies of world renowned antidiscrimination heroes that come from our Province.
“The Chilli Boys play an influential role to our surrounding communities through football and through our philanthropic work. We have people that look up to us and on the responsible decisions that we take. Our withdrawal of this appointment is an acknowledgment of our stance on such matters, with the Club also having fully informed Mr. Eymael and his representatives on our position.”
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