Chippa United midfielder Andile Jali’s legal issues with his former club, Moroka Swallows (now Marumo Gallants), have taken several twists over the past year.
Jali, who had claimed he was unfairly dismissed, filed a contractual damage case seeking R5.7 million in compensation, which was confirmed by football journalist Mazola J. Molefe on Soccer Zone.
However, the case was recently dismissed by the PSL Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC), leaving the player disappointed.
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The dispute stems from the termination of Jali’s contract with Moroka Swallows, which occurred after he was involved in what the club referred to as an “illegal strike” in December 2023.
Several players, including Jali, had demanded early payment before Christmas and subsequently boycotted a league fixture. In response, the club terminated their contracts. Jali believed that the termination was unjust and claimed he was owed a total of R5.7 million in damages.
However, the DRC ruled against Jali, dismissing his claim for unfair dismissal. Despite this, the issue of Jali’s image rights, which amounted to R880,000, was upheld.
This was a separate matter from the unfair dismissal claim and stemmed from Jali’s agreement with Moroka Swallows regarding his image rights. He was owed the amount by the club after the agent, Mike Makaab, sold the rights to Swallows. With the takeover of Swallows by Marumo Gallants, the new club inherited the financial obligations from the Dube Birds.
Mazola J. Molefe reports that Gallants, who purchased the status of Moroka Swallows, are now responsible for the R880,000 image rights debt. Gallants’ legal representative, Leruma Thobejane, has made it clear that they plan to file an appeal against the ruling.
Thobejane claimed that the image rights belonged to Jali’s agent, Mike Makaab, who had sold them to the previous club. The dispute over the image rights remains ongoing, with Gallants hoping to avoid further financial losses.
At the time of his contract with Swallows, Jali’s agreed salary (as quoted by Sunday World) was R185,000 per month, with an automatic salary increase to R203,500 per month if he played in two-thirds or more of Swallows’ official games in the 2023/2024 season. However, despite no outstanding salary payments at the time of the strike, the issue remained a point of contention.
Gallants’ lawyers argue that no payments were overdue, as players’ contracts stipulated that they would receive their salaries on the last working day of each month, not on December 22 as Jali and his teammates had demanded.
In conclusion, while the PSL DRC dismissed Jali’s unfair dismissal claim, it ordered Marumo Gallants to pay him R880,000 for the image rights. The matter remains unresolved, and with Gallants planning to appeal, Jali’s legal battle continues to linger.