An enraged PSL player was recently involved in a physical altercation with his boss after a confrontation over why he was refusing to run as part of his rehabilitation.
Motsepe Foundation Championship side NB La Masia’s forward Fuad Johnson had just returned from an injury, and the club’s female fitness trainer [only identified as Liesl] recommended that he run.
It is thought that running while recovering from muscle strains brings blood flow to the area and helps the muscle heal properly. However, the player insisted he wanted to return to the field to play football.
An argument ensued as the fitness trainer told the former Stellenbosch FC star he would have to run.
The player started shouting, accusing the fitness trainer of siding with the coach, ‘who doesn’t like him’.
WHAT TRIGGERED THE PHYSICAL ALTERCATION
“This guy was injured, and when he returned from rehab, he wanted to walk into training and start playing. He was told to run as that would help with his recovery,” an eye-witness told FARPost.
“But he argued he was okay and ready to play. He accused the coach that he didn’t like him.
“Fuad kept saying he felt Coach Ash [Ashwin Sutton] was using the injury to keep him out of the team.
“He then told the fitness trainer she was conspiring with the coach to keep him out of the team.
“He started getting aggressive with the fitness trainer and angrily moved towards her as if to beat her. While all this was happening, he told her he’s a national team player.”
The 20-year-old has represented the country at the youth level. In November 2021, he was called up to the national Under 20 team that participated in the COSAFA tournament in Eswatini.
The eye-witness added: “Seeing that he was charging at Liesl, the coach wanted to stop him, and the young man turned on him. He grabbed the coach on the neck and tried to hit him once.
THE COACH ACTED SWIFTLY
“But the coach reacted swiftly, grabbed him on the neck, and pushed him away. I think he realised he would not win it, so he retreated,” an eyewitness told FARPost.
Another player who was present at the session told FARPost that the player had come to training moody, probably because of his fast.
The striker, nicknamed Archie, is of the Muslim faith and has been on a Ramadan fast this month from dawn to sunset every day.
“They got to training in the morning, on a Monday and obviously, Fuad was fasting and moody. They told him to do some session, and he said no, ‘he’s not feeling well’. The fitness trainer said, ‘You’re gonna do it’,” explained the second witness.
“It then turned into a verbal exchange between the two. When Coach Ash tried intervening, Fuad turned on him.
“But Coach is stronger and bigger, so he stopped him.” Contacted for comment, the club’s chairman Nazier Baker said there was “no fight between Coach and Fuad”.
LA MASIA CHAIRMAN’S COMMENT
“Fuad fought with one of the other technical members – one of the physical trainers. It was not even a fight, it was [an exchange of] words, and it was broken up,” Baker told FARPost in a telephonic interview.
“It was early in the morning, and the same afternoon they were friends. You can confirm with Coach Ash as well. As far as I know, when I got there, there was nothing.
“He played the full 90 minutes in our last game, so this happened before the game.”
Johnson was back in action against Polokwane City on Friday last week. He was on target as La Masia lost 2-1 to the Limpopo side.
Efforts to get Coach Ashwin Sutton’s comment were fruitless as his phone rang unanswered several times.
The Stellies development product had a trial at Kaizer Chiefs before the 2022/23 season, but Amakhosi decided against signing him.
This came after a stellar run in the Multichoice Diski Challenge, where he topped the goal-scoring charts.
Long touted as a future star, he also had an assessment at Belgian outfit Royal Antwerp, the same club that ran the rule over Chiefs’ goalkeeper Bontle Molefe.
It was shocking when Stellies released him in June last year. Indications are that the player and his agent felt the centre forward deserved a better deal than what the Cape Winelands club were offering.
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