Following a meeting held between Kaizer Chiefs and its legal team, at the Kaizer Chiefs Village yesterday morning, regarding Siphelele Mthembu’s Appeal case and having established that the player has filed an affidavit with SAFA Appeals Board in terms of which he states his intention to accept the Dispute Resolution Chamber’s (DRC) decision to uphold his contract with Orlando Pirates and to take up employment and play for Orlando Pirates, the Appeal application has accordingly been withdrawn.

Kaizer Chiefs signed a contract with the player on the 4th December 2007, in terms of which the player would take up employment and to play for us until 2010/2011 season. The player has up until now always indicated to Kaizer Chiefs that it was his life long dream to play in our team and to this extent we were prepared to take all necessary steps through all the appropriate channels to obtain his registration and secure his employment with us in terms of his contract.

To the extent that the player now has had a change of mind and wishes to pursue his career with Orlando Pirates, we at Kaizer Chiefs, although disappointed with his decision, respect his decision and wish him every success in the future.

Further, Kaizer Chiefs’s withdrawal of the Appeal is also as a result of the dissatisfaction at the poor quality of the recordings of the proceedings at the DRC and the poor quality of the transcriptions which were provided for purposes of Appeal.

Not only were substantial portions of the evidence not properly recorded and/or transcribed but indeed entire tapes appear to have been omitted from the transcriptions. That these tapes appear to have been misplaced is most concerning.

Kaizer Chiefs has therefore decided to pursue this matter with the PSL.