Staff Reporter.
Former Bafana Bafana coach, Stuart Baxter has been fired at Indian Super League side, Odisha FC after making an unsavoury analogy about rape.
Baxter made headlines on Tuesday morning after his club said they would deal with his utterances in a TV post-match interview where he made insensitive comments about rape.
Speaking after his team had lost 1-0 to Jamshedpur on Monday, the former Bafana Bafana mentor said: ” You need decisions to go your way and they didn’t.
“I don’t know when we’re going to get a penalty. I think one of my players would have to rape someone or get raped himself if he was going to get a penalty.”
After this unfortunate statement, the club came out against it and made a public apology, and said they would deal with the matter internally. This was seen as suggesting that Baxter – whose team are bottom of the 11 team League – might be fired.
Rape is said to be a big problem in India and Baxter’s careless utterances regarding the subject were viewed in a serious light hence the club decided to cut ties with the Englishman.
“Odisha FC has decided to terminate Head Coach, Stuart Baxter’s contract with immediate effect.”
Odisha FC has decided to terminate Head Coach, Stuart Baxter’s contract with immediate effect.
The interim coach for the remainder of the season will be announced soon.#OdishaFC pic.twitter.com/FcrMPCDn5h
— Odisha FC (@OdishaFC) February 2, 2021
Meanwhile SA Football Association (Safa) CEO Tebogo Motlanthe has said that he will first look closer at ex-Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter’s “rape” comment that cost him his job in India before deciding if it warrants discussion at his organisation.
Safa had made moves to ask the government to in future deny ex-Free State Stars coach Luc Eymael a work permit in South Africa following racist comments in Tanzania‚ calling supporters of Yanga SC monkeys and dogs in July last year.
Elsewhere Marseille manager Andre Villas-Boas says he has offered his resignation because he disagreed with the club’s “sporting policy”.
Marseille have yet to accept or reject his resignation.
“I don’t want anything from Marseille. I don’t want money,” said Villas-Boas, who was named boss in 2019.
He told a news conference on Tuesday: “I’m waiting for an answer, it could be no and then we would continue. I don’t want any money, I just want to leave.”
On Ntcham, he said: “The transfer window finished with the arrival of a new player. A decision which wasn’t taken by me. I had nothing to do with this decision.
“In fact I learnt about it in the press this morning. It is precisely a player for whom I said no [to signing]. He was never a player on our list.”
It comes just three days after Marseille’s home match against Rennes was postponed following violent scenes at the training ground.