Butler, Paul�s spectacular fall-out
Mqondisi Dube | Thursday May 21, 2015 12:14
Then he was still in charge, hours before he was dramatically axed as both the head of the Young Zebras side and Peter Butler’s assistant.
At yesterday’s press briefing, BFA technical director, Ben Kgomela, in a bid to douse the flames and present a united front, failed miserably and instead only fuelled a raging inferno.
And the other unpalatable story emerged; Butler and Paul, once bosom buddies, are now estranged.
Upon arrival in Botswana, Butler fought hard to have Paul installed as his deputy as well as to take charge of the Under-23 side.
But one year and four months on, the two have turned fierce foes, sources have said.
The ugly BFA politics are behind the split and Paul’s eventual departure, the sources maintain. So polluted is the atmosphere that Kgomela and Butler are still not on talking terms while Paul’s name has also been dragged into the fixating equation.
The latest episode in which Paul appeared on Botswana Television (Btv) fuming about the ‘poaching’ of five Under-23 players ahead of a crunch tie, was only a tip of the iceberg.
Butler took five key Young Zebras with him to the COSAFA Senior Challenge as he prepares to face Bafana Bafana on Sunday.
Paul was left seething, and in a bid at damage control, Kgomela claimed both coaches had been involved in the selection.
While the Zebras prepare to play Bafana, the Under-23 side has a crucial Olympic Games qualifier against Zambia tomorrow night.
“Both coaches were involved in the decision to send five players to the senior team, with the other five remaining with the Under-23.
“It was a compromise,” Kgomela told journalists during a press briefing in Gaborone yesterday.
But Paul immediately disputed Kgomela’s version, arguing he was never involved in the selection process.
Actually, he shook his head in disapproval when Kgomela said both coaches were involved in the “compromise deal”.
Paul has reportedly endured a tough few weeks as he saw a bid to remove him from the senior Zebras post rejected. But, now his detractors have succeeded in having him fired.
Butler had already made efforts to have Paul removed prior to yesterday’s decision, it is said.
“However, there were no valid reasons to remove Paul,” the source said. Paul had reportedly been left out as Zebras number two, with the team without an assistant for Sunday’s Moruleng clash against South Africa. It is said some BFA officials (names known to this publication) poisoned the Butler-Paul relationship when they alleged the former Under-23 coach was after the Briton’s job. This reportedly infuriated Butler.
The five Under-23 players who torched the ugly public spat are Mpho Kgaswane, Omaatla Kebatho, Mosha Gaolaolwe, Tapiwa Gadibolae and Kabelo Seakanyeng, all key players in Paul’s squad.