It’s that time of year again when "player power" rears its ugly head.
The transfer window is known as silly season not only because of the crazy money that clubs spend.
But it’s also silly season here in SA because players start acting funny.
Especially if they hear a big club is interested in them and they smaak a move, they will start misbehaving.
That’s what Rivaldo Coetzee seemed to be doing before returning to Ajax Cape Town yesterday.
And why not? It’s worked for other players before.
They’ve kicked and screamed like toddlers and gotten their way, so no one can really blame him for trying the same tricks.
The defender has gone missing from pre-season preparations in an attempt to force a transfer to Mamelodi Sundowns.
Ajax coach Stanley Menzo was quoted online as saying his behaviour shows no respect for his teammates and his coach and I couldn’t agree more.
The Bafana Bafana man could have handed in a transfer request and maintained his professionalism because that saying about "be careful who you step on on the way up" is true.
Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand the player’s desire to move.
Sundowns will be competing for titles, they are African champions and he will likely triple his salary or more as was the case with others before him.
Also Sundowns have had problems at centreback this season with injuries so he will be guaranteed game time even though he’s competing against more established defenders.
I understand it all.
What I don’t understand is how the Brazilians seem to be playing by their own rules and bosses are letting them get away with it.
Remember what happened with Aubrey Ngoma during the season?
And now Brian Onyango of Maritzburg is also refusing to return from Kenya in the wake of interest from Sundowns.
This is a pattern and who knows what the players have been told and if contact has been made by Downs.
The PSL needs to step in or we will see this more and more.