Controversial Belgian coach Luc Eymael set to be shown the door by Chippa United — again

07 April 2021 - 09:31 By mninawa ntloko
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Luc Eymael's stay at Chippa United is set to be cut short.
Luc Eymael's stay at Chippa United is set to be cut short.
Image: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images

Controversial Belgian coach Luc Eymael is set to be shown the door by Chippa United later on Wednesday.

Insiders told TimesLIVE that club owner Siviwe “Chippa” Mpengesi has finally caved under the enormous pressure he's faced since announcing the Belgian's appointment as a technical adviser on Monday and will release him.

“A meeting will be held on Wednesday morning to finalise Eymael's fate and he will be informed of the decision. The political pressure has been massive and there was no way Mpengesi was going to be able withstand it‚” the insider said.

Chippa communications Sisa Majola confirmed that a meeting would be held on Wednesday morning‚ but he declined to elaborate.

“We will meet the management this morning, and after that we will meet the technical team‚” Majola said.

This is the second time Eymael has been let go due to public and political pressure just days after Mpengesi appointed him to the club.

Mpengesi initially tried to hire Eymael in December last year just minutes after sacking then coach Lehlohonolo Seema. After the initial outcry about the Belgian‚ the club withdrew his appointment and hired Malesela as coach.

Mpengesi sacked coach Dan Malesela on Sunday morning after an embarrassing 1-5 league defeat to Maritzburg United on Saturday night. Eymael was appointed as the club's “technical adviser” this week‚ with Zwide-born coach Siyabulela Gwambi assuming the head coaching job on an interim basis.

Eymael remains a hugely controversial figure among fans‚ media‚ politicians and even other coaches in SA after the Belgian was fired with immediate effect by Tanzania Premier League side Yanga Africans in July last year for calling the club's fans “illiterate and monkeys”.

He later apologised for his comments on social media.

The Eastern Cape provincial government has not yet responded to the decision to appoint Eymael‚ but the EFF wasted no time in firing a salvo at the Chippa owner.

“This racist was rejected by Safa last year when he planned his return to the country and province‚ and [Safa] announced that it intended to oppose his application for a work permit at home affairs‚” the party said in a statement in which it rejected the appointment of Eymael.

“The owner of Chippa United has once more stunned the nation and province by appointing the same racist coach.”

This is a developing story.


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