Butler suspends Nato
Mqondisi Dube | Thursday October 9, 2014 16:10
Nato failed to report for duty when the rest of the players assembled this week. A seething Peter Butler slapped the midfielder with suspension for misconduct.
“He did not report for camp. He is suspended from the team for misconduct. I am trying to develop a new squad and we have to be professional and get the right characters,” Butler said.
He said he was disappointed with Nato, but said life had to continue.
“We have replacements that is why I have been grooming youngsters. I am not really concerned. You can take a horse to the river but you cannot force it to drink,” a disappointed Butler said.
He said Nato had let down his teammates and everyone involved with the national team.
The former Gaborone United midfielder recently moved to Spanish side, Atletico Madrid’s sister club Athletico de Kolkata in India this season after a brief stay in South Africa.
Nato’s suspension means the coach has to tinker with his squad following Mogogi Gabonamong’s unavailability.
The gritty Bloemfontein midfielder sits out the Egypt tie after accumulating two yellow cards.
The development might severely affect the Zebras’ competitiveness, as the two are reputable holding midfielders.
Nato has played in each official Zebras game since Butler took over in February while Gabonamong returned against Tunisia last month.
Other than the two, Butler said the squad has responded positively at training at they are raring to go.
“I am pleased with the way things have gone. We had two sessions on Monday, one on Tuesday and two today (yesterday). We are always mindful of not overcooking the players,” he said.
The Egyptians arrived on Tuesday and held their training sessions at Livingstone Kolobeng College.
Tomorrow’s match sees two sides still to taste victory in Group G. Both lost consecutive matches to Tunisia and Senegal.