The plot thickens at the ABC Motsepe League newcomer Vasco da Gama.
This comes after Vasco’s owner Paul de Gouveia confirmed that the club has released its skipper Nathan Gertse (pictured) who has been at loggerheads with the club’s hierarchy for some time now.
“We have issued the clearance already and it is with the Cape Town Tygerberg LFA where it must be countersigned,” Gouveia confirmed to No Bones with Jones. “It is like any other player requesting their clearance. That’s it. I will not stand in the way of any player that requests a clearance,” De Gouveia added.
This unexpected twist of events started a couple of weeks ago when some of the junior players in Vasco’s squad was left unimpressed about Gertse’s ill-discipline – especially after their 0-7 drubbing against TS Galaxy in the Nedbank Cup Round of 32 a couple of weeks ago.
The situation between the club’s most senior and experienced player, Gertse, became so untenable that it forced Vasco’s boss to make an executive decision last week to drop the 33-year-old Gertse for their league match against Crystal Palace which ended in a 2-2 draw.
This did not sit well with Gertse, who bagged Safa Cape Town’s Player of the Year award last season and prompted him to request his clearance from De Gouveia.
‘Panna’ as Gertse is called, confirmed this news adding that he is currently taking a ‘break’ at home.
“I haven’t received my clearance yet as I must still speak to Paul,” Gertse told No Bones with Jones.
This news of Gertse being a free agent soon will be music to the ears of coaches such as City Kings FC’s Dylan Deane who could surely do with an experienced season campaigner like Gertse.
