Springbok Sevens star Lionel Mapoe will stay in Durban and will appeal the court ruling handed down against him by the Bloemfontein High Court on Wednesday.
rugby365
This ruling on Wednesday, by Judge Corné van Zyl, ordered Mapoe to report to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein before or by 15.00 on Thursday.
However, Mapoe’s lawyer, Frikkie Erasmus, confirmed on Thursday that they will “file papers” before the 15.00 deadline, set out in court papers.
This followed the urgent application by the Free State Cheetahs against Mapoe, the KwaZulu-Natal-based Sharks and two other parties, to force the Sevens Bok to return to Bloemfontein and play for the Cheetahs.
Mapoe had been practicing with the Sharks since May, despite a standing contract with the Cheetahs.
In court documents Mapoe said he wanted to play for the Sharks, but the Cheetahs refused to release him.
Erasmus confirmed that Mapoe had no intention of returning to Bloemfontein.
“He doesn’t want to play for the Cheetahs,” Erasmus said, adding that the appeal against Wednesday’s court ruling was based on “legal principles” and not emotion.
Erasmus admitted that the Sharks have been paying Mapoe’s salary since May, when he arrived in Durban, and that the player had received no payment from the Cheetahs since his departure in May.
Although Erasmus declined to elaborate on the details of the agreement between Mapoe and the Sharks, it is possible that he would earn up to five times more in Durban than what the case would be in Bloemfontein.
Mapoe, who was on a R60,000 per annum junior contract with the Cheetahs last year, received an ‘increase’ from the Cheetahs in December – when they agreed to pay him R200,000 per year.
However, once he was named in the Cheetahs Super 14 squad at the beginning of the year, he became subject to the standard players’ agreement that stipulates a minimum monthly payment of R27,500.
By May, however, Mapoe had decided he wanted to move to Durban and midway through the month failed to turn up at the Cheetahs – who then withheld payment on a ‘no play, no pay’ principle.
The matter then developed into the protracted tug-o’-war that has been dragging on for months – even resulting in the Cheetahs refusing to release Mapoe to the national Sevens team that will compete in next month’s Commonwealth Games.
And the end of the saga is still – sadly – not in sight, as Mapoe’s appeal means he will stay in Durban and continue to train with the Sharks until a date for the appeal hearing has been set.
Seems Frikkie Erasmus is envolved in a lot of rugby nonsense…
He is / was Rassie Erasmus’s partner in Crime for that hairbrained IPL-style T20 Rugby Circus they wanted to launch for next year too.
The Sharks should take a stance in this Mapoe matter now and tell Mapoe to stop practicing there… and possibly stop paying him, depending on how deep in the poo they’ve committed themselves towards Mapoe…
There are some legal personnel here making some nice money out of this fiasco.
Mmmm, maybe the Sharks should just stop footing Mapoe’s legal bills…. the case will stop ubruptly because it’s not cheap to litigate in the High Court or in the Apeal Court….
@ grootblousmile:
That’s why I have been thinking all along someone is talking sweet nothings into Mapoe’s ear and he believes it all, because that is what he wants to beleive.
From Sharksworld who spoke to Mapoe’s agent;
“Whatever the case, the player has been done in”, reckons van Wyk, “and he is the only loser in this case. I just hope that we can use this situation as a warning to young players not to go into these contract negotiations – and sign contracts – without having somebody with them who knows what’s what”. Van Wyk reveals that, as we had suspected, he was not Mapoe’s representative at the time that the contract was signed. “They got him in there as an 18 or 19-year-old and made him sign this junior contract for 3 years. I only took him onto my books a few months after that and we determined that he hadn’t been made aware of all the facts before signing it”.
Some of the speculation surrounding the figures can be revealed. Mapoe’s junior contract was worth around R5k a month to him. The player and his agent sat down with the Cheetahs last year to try and negotiate a meaningful increase, which the Cheetahs refused. Only since the player left to take up the Sharks’ offer did Free State unilaterally decide to increase his remuneration – they decided to double his salary and simple started paying the new amount into his bank account. Van Wyk is quick to point out that “at no point did Lionel accept a revised wage offer from the Cheetahs. They did that all on their own”. He also confirmed that Robert Ebersohn, a player with similar credentials to Mapoe, is currently earning R740k a year at the Cheetahs.
“The Sharks were the only union that were actually prepared to consider the player’s welfare in all of this – to ensure that he could get a fair deal and earn what he was worth. Nobody else would take this on and fight it on Lionel’s behalf.” Van Wyk maintains that the Sharks have tried to find ways to resolve the dispute, offering the Cheetahs a very generous settlement of around 7 times the player’s current salary, but the Cheetahs have refused to budge and are now simply acting out of spite. “I just want to get Lionel back onto the field now. Surely they must at least let him go to the Commonwealth Games with the sevens squad while we try and sort this all out?”
5@ Morné:
Do you seriously expect anything else than Mapoe and his agent and for that matter a Sharks blog painting any other picture than that Mapoe is the victim?
We have 2 Judicial rulings, who see the matter differently… and I tend to believe more in that objective analysis.
Yes, players should contract wiser and yes agents should advise players better…. let that be the lesson learnt.
@ grootblousmile:
Uhm, I don’t think anyone is disputing the contractual obligations in question here, but more the circumstances surrounding it.
Heard about a youngster yesterday, whilst having my hair cut, who plays lock and who was identified by Heyneke Meyer as one of the top 20 new finds for next year….. Have obviously not seen his Bulls contract but apparently the following applies…
The stipulations are that Studying for a qualification after Matric is EXPECTED and indeed a REQUIREMENT, studies will be paid, so too his food and lodgings, as well as over 200K a year in salary, medical aid… ect
This is probably why we never hear this type of contract unhappiness at the Bulls…. they have the resources to look after them from the word go.
@ grootblousmile:
Main point, they (Bulls) look after them.
I have learned the hard way ignorance is no excuse, but please do not forget, many of these youngsters especially those coming from backgrounds where they had very little, are extremely ignorant and they are taken advantage of.
Anycase I must be off.
7@ Morné:
You mean the “Circumstances as Painted from ONE vantage point”, surely…. the vantage point of the supposed victum….
Sorry, but I cannot accept that….
9@ Morné:
Eishhhhhhhhh, daar klink jy nou soos die ANC of COSATO….. stand by the “Victum”… play the “Victum Chip”.
Kak man, the man got given the OPPORUNITY to play rugby and the immesurable opportunity to better himself all the way into the Springbok Sevens and into the Cheetahs Super 14 side… with bigger Springbok prospects looking very bright… yip, right there at the Cheetahs who are now made out to be the ogre who took advantage of poor little Mapoe.
He’s now become greedy and swolen in the head…. and on top of all this kak has Agents and Attorneys talking kak into his head… and with the Sharks cheering him and them on…
Mmmmm, maybe I was also “Victimised” when I did my Articles all those years ago, for the measly sum of R 450.00 per month…. or was I given the OPPORTUNITY to learn and qualify and gain exceptional practical experience…. I wonder. I had to also conclude a Contract of Articleship, heavily in favour of the Employer (Attorney acting as my Principal), registered with the Law Society… a contract which basically treated me a single step better than a slave and with a Law (Attorneys Act) dictating that the minimum wage was no less than R 50.00 per month… hehehe
It is time for the spineless SARU to step in and order the Sharks to not pay / play / pratice with Mapoe.
Can he be held in contempt of court? Maybe a night in the Mangaung Jail will sort him out.
13@ Loosehead:Appealing suspends the working of a Ruling…. so no he cannot be held to be in contempt of Court.
This is a civil matter, should Mapoe stay away from the Cheetahs, even after an unsuccessful Appeal.. the remedies are limited.
@ Morné:
morne mapoe is glad nie agtergeblewe nie hy het skool gegaan aan hoerskool fichardpark wat in een van die hoer middelklas buurte in bloem gelee is en basies op die selfde vlak is as san du plessis waar morne steyn was,dit is ook een van die skole wat akedemies baie sterk is in bloem,so moenie daai kaart speel nie, jan harm is een om te praat,as dit nie vir die cheetahs was nie was hy maar net n karoo kind op n plaas in burgerdorp snaaks dat hy nooit regtig in aanvraag by ander unies was nie,meskien moet sy skole rugby nemisis koenie de vries weer sy ribbis vir hom breek sodat hy maniere kan kry
R5000 a month is shocking and R10 000 is not good either, but that being said he should go back to the Free State and only come back when all is resolved.
@ Treehugger:
i earn 16k a month for working in a prison for 12 houers a day i have been in the workforce for 19 years this palooka is 21 or 22 and gets 29000 a month excluding match fees now THAT is shocking..
17@ smallies72:
Flok smalpielletjies, jy kry seker darem ander byvoordele ook soos behuising, medies en pensioen… en dalk kan jou kinders gratis tronk toe gaan of so iets ook…. hehehehe
@gbs nee chom die eenigste wet wat ons nuwe en verbeterde regering streng aan gehoor gee is die wet van transvaal ons betaal vir als
19@ smallies72:
Fokkit, so jou Total Cost To Company is maar 16 Skille, ‘n klap en ‘n hand vol pap….. bwahahaha
@ grootblousmile:
cheap labour pel cheap labour
@ grootblousmile:
na 19 jaar se ononderbroke diens
GBS – when you qualified your salary got increased dramatically I’m sure.
You said the Bulls shouldn’t get involved in Basson dispute – why should the Sharks get involved in a dispute between him and the Cheetahs?
23@ Pam Anderson:
Firstly regarding my own progress: I qualified as an Attorney and was a Professional Assistant (Attorney who is not a partner) for about 8 months in Pretoria at not much of a salary, then PA’d for another firm for 9 Months before getting tired of being paid peanuts and jumping out to open my own Practice….
Fact is, my future and decisions was in my own hands, much like Mapoe’s and we all have to undergo some sort of “Appieship”, before the rewards come. To this day I’m grateful and thankful to the Attorney who took me in under Clerkship…. what I learnt was largely my reward, salary was so shitty that I free-wheeled a help-my-trap 50cc scooter downhill to save petrol because near the end of my Articles I was already a married man.
Secondly regarding the Mapoe conundrum: Difference between the Basson and Mapoe cases are clear, Mapoe is TRAINING at the Sharks, who currently bankroll him and his legal fees, in current contradiction to 2 Judicial Rulings….. so whether the Sharks want to admit it or not, they are party to this dispute…. even cited as a Party in the Court Proceedings and Judgments. The Sharks also stand under the hammer should the Cheetahs consider an Action for Damages….
@pam anderson as i see it the bulls negotiated in good faith and the problem is who gets wat from the transfer fee so it is an internal problem. The sharks on the other hand tried to steal mapoe using underhanded tactics and therefore they are involved,do you realy think mapoe is paying his own legal fees espessialy in the high court and apeal court where the bills is thousands per hour
Mapoephol …. grow some balls and own up fella. If your not happy about the pay, then follow the correct channels …don’t just go awol….that’s pathetic. Me personally…hope to never see you back in the FS.
Let me ask this question – is Mapoe regarded as an employee of FSRU in the legal sense?
@ grootblousmile:
Are you for real?
You might be lawyer, but rugby players are not.
As a lawyer, you have also surely seen how people use their knowledge of the laws (read fine print) to suit their own agendas.
I SAID, consider the circumstances.
These are;
A player on a JUNIOR contract earning bloody peanuts whereas a similar player, of similar ability, age and experience earns what, 5 times more?
They had him sign the contract as an 18-year old without the presence of an agent or an expert on the matters and it was a 3YEAR contract.
They refused to increase his salary as early as last year when he was already a Sevens Bok and on everyone’s lips given his spectacular Currie Cup where everyone wanted him on the EOYT.
ONLY when he left the union AFTER THEY REFUSED TO RE-NEGOTIATE his remuniration did they decide to ‘double’ his salary, a contractual agreement he DID NOT agree to.
They have been offered transfer fees FAR exceeding his current salary but refused.
And I sound like COSATU playing the blame or victim game?
Bloody hell dude your law book can justify a lot of things, it cannot justify the Cheetahs unprofessionalism and plain draconian approach and dealings within this matter.
Funny though, when the Cheetahs kicked up a storm over Basson surrounding the circumstances of his move, you were very quick to dismiss their approach and argument.
Morne – hear hear!
@ Morné:
This case have a few sides i kept myself out of it mostly. It is just sad that our Rugby is littered by this type of disputes. Do you ever hear something similar from NZ and AUS?
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