Why AFC Leopards coach Tomas Trucha wants out of the den
AFC Leopards coach Tomas Trucha gestures from the touchline during their FKF Premier League match against Tusker FC on November 28, 2020 at Kasarani.
What you need to know:
- The coach has been at the club for slightly over a month.
- He led the club in their opening match of the season, where they beat Tusker 2-1 at Kasarani.
The future of AFC Leopards coach Tomas Trucha hangs in the balance over alleged threats to his agent.
Leopards chairman Dan Shikanda Wednesday told journalists in Nairobi that the Czech national, who signed a two-year deal with the club on November 2, feels unsafe in the country, after the life of his agent was threatened.
Shikanda, who spoke on the sidelines of the launch BetSafe’s operations in the local market, said the threats are coming from some agents, and that coach Trucha will Thursday make the announcement on whether he will maintain his position at the club or not.
“If I invite you to a place and people start threatening me, will you be comfortable staying in that place? There are a lot of threats on the agent of the coach and the people bringing the threats are some agents. We do not know what they want and the coach definitely is not happy with what is happening,” said Shikanda, adding that they will report the matter to the police.
Trucha will Thursday make the announcement on whether he will maintain his position at the club or leave.
He is a Uefa PRO licensed coach and was on the touchline in last Saturday’s Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKF-PL) match, where Ingwe beat Tusker 2-1 at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi.
Shikanda said the people behind the threats are also the ones who criticised the club’s management for settling on Trucha for the job, on grounds that he is not qualified.
He also blamed them for being behind midfielder Duncan Otieno transfer saga.
Leopards have been embroiled in a dispute with Lusaka Dynamos after the Zambian club acquired Otieno just a few days after he signed a two-year deal with the 13-time Kenyan champions.
“They are the same people who were saying that he (Trucha) does not have papers and is a tourist. They are the same people who lured Duncan back to Zambia and now they want to blame it on the board. We cannot get Duncan from Zambia to play for us then send him back to Zambia without playing for us,” said Shikanda, also refuting Otieno’s claims on Twitter that Lusaka Dynamos had paid Leopards transfer fees.
The Leopards chairman further clarified that the club has only five foreign players, which is within the law. They are; Ivorian Alexandre Kouame, Congolese Fabrice Mugheni, Burundian Bienvenue Shaka, Ghanaian Gideon Waja and Ugandan Benjamin Ochan.
