CAPE TOWN - Kaizer Chiefs have attempted to shut down speculation that striker Gustavo Páez is currently unhappy with life under head coach, Giovanni Solinas.
The Venezuelan has made just three starts in AmaKhosi’s 13 games this season, and seemed less than happy when he came off for Bernard Parker in the 65th minute of the Macufe Cup match against Bloemfontein Celtic at Free State Stadium on Sunday.
Television broadcast footage seemed to show the striker snubbing his coach’s offer of a handshake, a customary part of football substitutions worldwide. Paez seemed to ignore Solinas as the Italian stretched out his hand twice and continued to walked back to the Chiefs bench.
However, Paez has now apologised for in a statement published on the Kaizer Chiefs website on Wednesday, chalking the incident up as a “misunderstanding”. “There was no bad intent on my part as I have a great relationship with the coach,” said Páez.
“It was a case of misunderstanding. I admit that it looked bad and for that reason I apologise sincerely to the Chairman, the club, my teammates, sponsors, supporters and all the stakeholders for this unfortunate incident.”
Chiefs went on to win the match 2-0 and claim their seventh Macuf Cup title, thanks to goals from Lebogang Manyama in the 37th minute and Dumisani Zuma in the 90th. In Wednesday’s website post regarding the Paez Solinas incident, the club added that it has “implement the necessary internal steps to ensure that the matter is put to bed”.
Chiefs – third on the league table after 10 games - host Black Leopards in the first round of the Telkom Knockout in their next match on Sunday.
@KaizerChiefs @MarawaRobert @SuperSportTV. Are there tensions between Gustavo Paez and coach Solinas? In this video, the coach attempts to extend his hand to Paez on two occasions and Paez flatly ignores him. #MacufeCup2018 #MacufeCup pic.twitter.com/Tk0KyNmS9Y