The more I hear of players apparently moving around (only to be denied) or rumours of exuberant amounts being offered to buy players out of current contracts the more irritated I get.
Not only does it make for bad news or reporting where every single rumour is followed by denial by relevant parties, but it also leaves a bad taste of the level of professionalism that exists in current SA Rugby structures.
Like anything in life you get the good with the bad, and I have no doubt that there are some very good player-agents out there but unfortunately the profession get’s tarnished more often than not with the bad ones.
I am referring specifically to the agents who act more than PR spinning machines than actual agents to increase the value of their players for the sole purpose of making that quick extra buck, than acting in the sport and the player’s best interests.
I am not for one second suggesting that agents should be forced to watch re-runs of Jerry McGuire 50 times a week but I would like to see agents act responsibly as experts of the industry (rugby) they operate in where they should in fact act as a consultant, or leading industry experts, advising players and unions of the best possible scenario’s and its implications.
More importantly, agents should be regulated and made to be held accountable for dodgy deals or not acting in the best interest of the game or players, or bringing the game of rugby into disrepute.
This regulating function or body, or the absence of it, is largely to blame for the circus we see every year with players moving around and the controversy around it. Just cast your mind back to a couple of cases in the last two years which ended up at the CCMA and independent arbitration.
Players themselves has publicly stated that their moves (to other, usually overseas clubs) were premature or not fully considered or understood which left them stranded in a place they do not like, forced to act as mercenaries to fulfil contractual obligations they did not fully appreciate when they signed them.
We all sign contracts and none of us read 50 pages of fine print when doing so. We act on the faith and trust we have in the advisor or advisors who are supposed to be leading industry experts in those areas, but like most salespeople, some agents seem to be selling more bullshit and not fact when advising players to commit to certain deals knowing full well that it will not be in their best interest but at least, still making a pretty penny out of the deal.
The responsibility of establishing a regulatory body falls solely on the shoulders of SA Rugby, and make no mistake, the Players Association (who I criticise often) and some agents have been pushing for something to be established for years now, only to fall on deaf ears at the offices of SA Rugby.
So as unbelievable as it may sound, there are some good guys out there who advises their players on all the risks before committing them to any contract or deal, but like most unregulated thing in business, they, together with the players and unions are suffering because of the sharks of the industry who care for nothing other than the Dollar signs they see when entering negotiations.
I have heard too many horror stories of how things went badly wrong to know that although business is hard and cruel, without some form of regulation the industry and in this case the game of rugby will ultimately suffer because of the greed and incompetence of the parties responsible to change this.
Morne,
My concern is that the problem is not restricted to rugby.
Horror stories like you won’t believe have happened in SA Soccer for a very long time where player abuse by clubs has always been rife.
Given the fact that SA Rugby and other sports bodies have themselves been challenged in courts, I fear that if this regulatory body resides under a sports body like SA Rugby, what prevents the decision to be challenged by the offender in a higher court?
Should a broad regulatory body not reside under the Ministry of Sport rather?
Show me the money!!
Please fender, lets keep rugby as far away from the minister of sport as possible.
Amen Morne…. there’s just been simply too many problems.. and they seem to surround the same bloody agents… all the time.
Remember the Bakkies Botha debacle…. agent (UNREGISTERED) was Bernie Habana, who at that stage was only eligible to act for his own son Bryan, yet he was acting for Bakkies and Meisiekind as well…
Then there is this Frikkie character, who is involved in the Jaque Fourie case…. was he not also involved in the Mujati thing?
Some blame MUST be laid in front of the Unions as well… they should follow the example of the Bulls (Ian Schwartz)… do everything in the open, by the book!!
In the Jacque Fourie case, there is no doubt in my mind that WP (through Rassie and Frikkie Vroetelvingers) have acted morally incorrectly… and I would suggest the Alberts & Ludik cases involving the Sharks is also a bit dodgy.
I say regulate the Agents, rule them with an Iron Fist!!
#3 Snoek
Hehe, I understand the nervousness with the current incumbant, but hey, he can’t and won’t sit there forever. And pasopa for that Sharks supporting Zuma – you don’t perform, you’re out!
So, rather look at the principle ’cause all professional sportspeople in RSA need the regulator.
5@ fender – Sorry to totally disagree, Government interference reeks of moving away from democratic principles (even further) and to be frank, with their track record (now and in the distant past) of not being effective and creating “Red Tape”… no thank you…. definately not!
I’d rather have it as is, than in Government hands.
Peet v Zyl is die groot sondebok op die oomblik.
Fender,
To me the dynamics and the difference between the codes are too different to have a broad regulatory body controlling it.
The onus for me falls on SA Rugby where they should control structures in the game they are responsible for.
Rules and regulations and set periods and conditions for negotiating player contracts and transfer windows can be easily enforced.
Also, consitutions and rules for bodies operating within the structure can easily be set up and enforced through a system where only registered agents and agents that agreed and signed against the agreements, conditions can be regulated.
Disciplinay bodies can be set up wherever disuptes are lodged and penalties can be enforced if found guilty, which in agents could result in suspensions and even cancelling their license to operate as agents.
Anything in life can be challenged in court, but the case of that happening in a scenario where a well regulated and enforced regulatory system is established with set rules and regulations which people agree to and subscribe to is slim, especially compared to the circus we have now.
#6 GBS No problem with you disagreeing…
I will refrain from commenting on the moving away from democratic principles. Such discussion can be pursued on other sites, I reckon.
Off the top of my head, two examples of goverment inspired regulatory bodies that are effective (particularly cost effective for the applicant)and are cutting through the red tape are the CCMA (under Dept of Labour) and the FAIS Ombud (under the Financial Services Board).
On the basis of this, I suggested that the Ministry of Sport should come up with a similar effective regulator.
9@ fender – I can name more effective bodies, which are not in Government hands… every Law Society in SA, The Estate Agents Board, The Bar Council…
Formalisation of a structure does not have to be a top-heavy structure, there are’nt that many agents… there needs to be an Ombudsman, appointed and regulated by SARU, to which Agents have to subscribe too. Registration and Grievance Proceedures need to be simple yet secure…
In fact, SARU is Rugby’s ruling body…. the organisation exists already, the Ombudsman for Agents needs to be am arm of SARU, no need for an additional Organisation.
Assemble a firing squad for the agents. It is easy and simple.
11@ dWeePer – Hehehehe, best suggestion yet !!
Good morning everyone!…
GBS firstly let me correct re the ludick and alberts matter,
contrary to some rumours it was alberts and ludick that approached the sharks after the problems blew up withint the lions camp
they were not the only ones btw , the sharks have been upfront with lions and even released a player ( warren whitely) who was still under contract with the sharks , to the lions
the bulls are not as innocent as you think and if you speak to the right people at some unions you find out some things are not as they seem
but this is not a sharks or bulls etc problem , but a system problem
the lions are crying ?? they are involved in more nonsence behind the scene then any other union
they involved in a tussle for chilli , without consent of the bulls
they involved in a tussle for lombard of griquas, again it came out was underhanded
i can tell you the sharks negotiated for brussow and it was through negotiations that brussow was left to complete his contract with the cheetahs till the end of the super 14
the sharks had players requested like monty and skipper from the cheetahs who are still under contract for 2010
and between the sharks and the cheetahs they came to an agreement
this being monty on loan and skipper bought on 2 year contract , thus the sharks and cheetahs agreeing and solving this issue amicably,
the cheetahs have loaned a fetcher in wessels to the sharks in this arrangement , in all these cases the sharks could have been slimey , they were not
the cheetahs will lose brussow to the sharks no doubt , it will only be after the super 14 thus the arrangment of monty and wessels
3 players the sharks have released without a cry session
the problem is the lionsare not complaing about the players they gain being released by other unions , but they cry like hell for any they lose
gentleman argue as you may , the main proble arose because the lions camp fell apart players pannicked and their lawyers found a loop hole that is not in contracts other unions have
these players then went in search of a new employer along with their agents of course
fact is the lions have messed up and now need to save face
yes i feel sorry for them , and ill always admit that i want the lions to become a strong union again as it is a bennifit to SA rugby etc
but they made the mistakes and are being punnished for it
instead of making more problems for themselves in public they shouyld accept it like adults move on and not make the same mistakes again
GBS and Morne,
Guys, I don’t really want to get in a debate over which body or route is the more effective one and why it is so. We have enough agreement that a regulator is necessary.
Maybe we should be asking why SA Rugby is so reluctant to introduce one…
13@ Tjarkie – I have yet to hear about a shady or underhanded deal by the Bulls…. maybe us Bulls are just naturally smarter and more streetwise that the rest…. well, that’s stating the obvious really !!
Kindly enlighten me about a single underhanded deal by the Bulls…
there is a body within the law society that regulates transfers etc , thus the arbatrations that take place
fact is between the lions and the players agents someone is lying as i pointed out in the previous article
where players and lawyer and agent say they have requested a release certificate
the glru saying they have recieved no such request
uhm without the sharks concent they tried to get steyn last year
this year they tried the duplessis brothers
murray they have been upfront with
gbs i have no doubt all unions are guilty of this
some say the sharks were skelm to try get brussow
well i can tell you a 2 million rand offer to buy out contract was made
thats being upfront , if they were doing it under handed theer would have been no negotiations with the cheetahs management
15@ fender – Proper debate about this, on this blog and maybe on others, might just wake the sleepers to start doing their work…. wakey, wakey SARU…. stop sleeping there in the High Performance Centre in Slaapstad, ruk julle vingers uit julle holle!!
Guys like Christo Ferreira, the legal man at SARU, should catch a speedy wake-up !
did the sharks get brussow now?? no it seems , but agreements are made and both parties are happy with the cheetahs also gaining from the sharks
The Sharks apparently entered into pre-contracts with Alberts and Ludick. That is a good example of under the table dealings.
gbs you dont hear of this shit at the sharks or bulls because iots handled more professionally
take habana ?/ did the bulls fight?? no they gave him early release and moved on
did the sharks make a scene about f steyn? monty? whitely , skipper ? no they gave early release
the sharks had a lock snyman contracted to them earlier in the year
lions needed a lo0ck because of injuries
the sharks had snyman contracted , yet released him to the lions
sp you tell me who is being the idiots here ???
The Du Plessis brothers were free agents when the Bulls talked to them. Good attempt of bullshitting.
no deweeper its actually how you have to go about signing a player who is of the opinion he is entitled to leave a union
again it was alberts and ludick that that approched the sharks because of the problems in the lions camp
many more players did the same ,
actually its amazing how everyone always blames the sharks when they all guilty of things within rugby
23@ Tjarky – I hear what you say… in my mind it’s simple… anybody who goes to the Sharks or WP need their heads read and are the Idiots…. hehehe
deweeper they were not
the discussions with them took place last year already between currie cup and super 14 this year
please dont comer bullshit and think your bulls are so innocent
lol gbs boet en jy weet hoe ek voel lol
sharks forever
but boet think about it
you keep hearing the sharks buy yet , all the unions buy as we saw with the bulls and cheetahs teams for the final , i got no problem with that
thet actuall problem here is rugtby supporters still think like amatures and do not have a clue as to professional rugby
i can harp on the under handed way the bulls for example through military and other avenues stoll natal players at want
and didnt pay for them
but thats history , fact is all unions buy and will do so to make sure they are succesful
like i said the biggest cry is spectators who still think like they would in school
rugby is a professional sport and they should learn to deal with it
24@ dWeePer & 27@ Tjarky – Shall I attempt to get Ian Schwartz’s version of the Du Plessis story… he reads here often enough…
Maybe I should ask him if he is willing to write us an Article, dealing with current player agent problems and transfers from an insider’s perspective??
what people cant seem to get into their little heads is , even as a sport ” ITS A BUSINESS ”
Through marketing etc on the world markets , the sharks are tops out of any rugby uions team , this is because its a business .
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