Experienced goalkeeper, Patrick Tignyemb, has denied that he is back at Bloemfontein Celtic to re-join the club.
As reported by the Siya crew last Tuesday, Tignyemb had his 11-year stay with Celtic come to an abrupt end with the unexpected termination of his contract, as the Mangaung outfit was left with only one match to play for the 2018/19 season.
Read – Breaking: Tignyemb's 11-Year Celtic Stay Ends Unceremoniously
Some social media reports this morning (Tuesday) have indicated that the shot-stopper was back at Siwelele. However, the 33-year-old Cameroonian has refuted the claims, while also saying that he is demanding answers and an apology from the club.
He told the Siya crew, "I was called by the club and I said I can't go to the office. I told them, 'I can't go to the office because I am not part of you anymore. If you want to see me, let's go to a public place where everyone can see us.'
"Last time I went to the office, Khumbulani (Konco) kicked stuff and swore at me with no proof. So, I told him that we should meet (at) Spar as I am not far from there. He sent to me the general manager. The general manager gave me some document and I asked him what it was. He asked me to open it and after doing so I realised that it was a document to cancel the termination of the contract. The document read something like, 'from now on I'm back in the team'.
"I told him, 'You guys are stupid. You think I'm a small boy. Before I can come back to the team you must tell the media the truth or else I'm not coming back and I'm not signing anything.'
"If you are guilty, you can't just change to being not guilty without anyone apologising. Khumbulani said what I did in the office was very bad and that they can't forgive me. But why is he telling me to come back now? That means (he) know(s) (he is) wrong."
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Asked if he would consider returning to Celtic, Tignyemb said, "I'd rather go and play amateur football. You can't chase someone away and one week later you call him back. That means there is something wrong. I have sent the document to the players union (Safpu) and they are laughing, because everything in there is against them (Celtic)."
Contacted for comment, Celtic's chairman Max Tshabalala refuted Tignyemb's claims and said that he thought all was well between themselves and the goalkeeper.
"After the argument between Patrick and Khumbulani I told them that I would like to see both of them. I called Khumbulani to say they should talk. I called Thulaganyo (Gaoshubelwe) at the players' union to tell him that we would be meeting Patrick. We were at a Mugg Bean Restaurant for the meeting. We spoke over coffee and I told Patrick that I felt that we didn't follow the right procedure on what happened between him and Khumbulani. We acted in a rush, because someone must be given a chance to present his case in those kinds of situations. We didn't give him any chance to explain himself. I cannot deny that," said Tshabalala.
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"I am shocked that today he is saying that we must apologise. He himself apologised for what happened last week. I did the same to him because there's nothing wrong with apologising and accepting that we didn't follow the right protocol. We took pictures at the restaurant and everything was fine for all of us when we left," added the chairman.
