Lawyer clarifies Royal AM’s side in Nurkovic legal debacle

Royal AM‘s legal representative, Leruma Thobejane, has clarified the club’s position regarding the recent Fifa ruling in their case against former player Samir Nurkovic.

ALSO READ: Martin announced as new Chippa signing from Pirates

Thobejane expressed his dissatisfaction with the award issued by Fifa. He believes it was based solely on Nurkovic’s version of events without considering Royal AM’s perspective. 

Speaking on Metro FM’s Sports Night Amplified, Thobejane said that he will not allow the Royal AM to be bullied into submission.

“The problem is that the award issued by Fifa is based on Samir’s version that he was there and available to play but was sidelined. 

“I told the gentleman at Fifa that the process has not been fair on Royal AM and I told him that I will not be bullied into submission.

“The president of Royal AM (Shauwn Mkhize) wanted Nurkovic, but we do not want people to come and lie. We might as well not have contracts; we should just pay players to sit at home. 

“We paid Nurkovic for the 30-day notice but he will not tell anyone that we paid him anything,” explained Thobejane. 

The legal representative asserted that, despite being on notice, Nurkovic was still expected to fulfill his duties.  

Thobejane argued that the club had the right to include Nurkovic in their squad for the Macufe Cup. And that had he shown up for work, he would have been compensated accordingly. 

Nurkovic went AWOL

He pointed out that the contract allowed for termination if Nurkovic was found guilty of misconduct or deemed incapable of performing.

ALSO READ: Pirates can end Sundowns’ dominance, says confident Monare

“When you are on notice, you still have to perform so Samir was still a Royal AM player. And they were entitled to play him at Macufe Cup. 

“Nurkovic would have been paid, had he come to work but he did not come to work. The contract has two grounds of termination. One, if we find him guilty of misconduct or two, if he is incapable of performing.” 

Thobejane made it clear that Royal AM intends to challenge the Fifa ruling. He disputed that there was a June 19, 2023 deadline imposed.  

Responding to allegations that Nurkovic was dismissed due to illness, Thobejane refuted such claims. He stressed that clubs cannot terminate a player’s contract solely on the basis of injury. 

Thobejane clarified that Nurkovic was not even present or registered as a player during that period.