Christmas became a regrettable event for Siyethemba Sithebe, as his contract with Richards Bay was terminated.

The club suspended the player due to accusations of disrespectful conduct towards coaches in the dressing room following a loss to SuperSport United.

Although he did not play in the match, Sithebe allegedly entered the dressing room afterward and engaged in a heated dispute with the coaching staff. This incident led to his suspension and the eventual termination of his contract.

Richards Bay initiated disciplinary actions against Sithebe; however, he opted not to attend the hearing based on advice from his agent, Musa Sithebe.

Club chairman Sifiso Biyela told Sportswire: “We aim to emulate the Stellenbosch approach, stressing the importance of certain players in nurturing our younger talents.

“This is why we recruited Sithebe and Thabiso Kutumela, as we expect them to play a mentoring role for the younger players. If there is inappropriate behavior, it transcends football itself.

“We suffered a tough loss against SuperSport although we played well. Resorting to physical fights and insulting coaches in the dressing room indicates a failure in team cohesion, making collaboration impossible.

“As a senior player, your job is to comfort the team, validate their efforts, and highlight missed chances, like a missed penalty, to inspire everyone and showcase true leadership.

“We have players like Kutumela who haven’t seen the pitch in several matches, yet their spirits remain high. Their commitment during training is unwavering.

“We clarified their duties even before signing them in the off-season, expressing our expectations for their roles at this club. Therefore, we can’t tolerate behavior that undermines our coaches’ authority, especially when we are battling relegation, as that would create a bad example for others.

“The termination of the contract wasn’t done lightly; he was summoned for the Disciplinary Committee (DC) meeting and ultimately recognized he should have attended. He conceded because we had to bring in legal counsel. Ultimately, we were managing this case externally.

“At this moment, I’m unsure who our legal representative was at the club. On the day of the DC meeting, he informed us he had received advice from his uncle and agent (Musa Sithebe) not to attend.

“We have all the statements supporting our claims. Unfortunately, we have 28 players, and we cannot allow any player to show disrespect to our coaches.”

Biyela, recently elected to the PSL Executive Committee for a four-year term, expressed his deep disappointment in Sithebe’s actions.

“We engaged him to meet specific commitments,” he said.

“I was faced with a dilemma: either risk losing more players and disturbing the entire locker room culture or part ways with a single player, which led us to terminate Sithebe’s contract.

“Furthermore, we must acknowledge that this player should serve as a role model to the younger team members.”

Sithebe joined Richards Bay at the start of the current season after being released by Kaizer Chiefs. During his brief tenure with the Natal Rich Boys, he made a total of eight appearances across all competitions.