Chippa United have officially confirmed the withdrawal of the appointment of Luc Eymael as their new head coach.

The Chilli Boys recently released a statement confirming the appointment of the Belgian coach following the sacking of Lehlohonolo Seema.

The South African Football Association (Safa) then released a counter statement stating that they will object to handing Eymael a work permit after he called the Young Africans supporters monkey’s and dogs during his stint at the club.

However, Chippa has confirmed that they will not appoint Eymael as coach or the rest of the season and will announce their new coach in the due course of time.

The Chilli Boys have since released the following statement on the matter, which reads as follows:

The Club would like to formally announce that it has withdrawn the appointment of Belgian, Luc Eymael.

When processes are complete, a new coaching announcement will be made in due course.

After having announced Mr. Eymael’s appointment until the end of the season on Wednesday, 23 December 2020 – the Club has considered public outrage. There was also the reputational damage caused to our brand; and that of our stakeholders, partners as well as our sponsors.

We would like to clarify that the initial decision to make this appointment was based on Mr. Eymael’s coaching track record, where we felt he was the best person to take the Club towards our desired top half finish in this DSTV Premiership season.

Outside of the written reports, there was no formal instruction – to us or to any other team- to not employ Mr. Eymael.

However, as the Pride of Eastern Cape, we represent the legacies of world renowned anti- discrimination heroes that come from our Province.

The Chilli Boys play an influential role to our surrounding communities through football and through our philanthropic work. We have people that look up to us and on the responsible decisions that we take.

Our withdrawal of this appointment is an acknowledgment of our stance on such matters, with the Club also having fully informed Mr. Eymael and his representatives on our position.

As Chippa United Football Club, we would also like to wish our supporters and the football loving public a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

We also ask all South Africans to continue abiding to the Covid-19 set regulations and restrictions during this festive period.