A Zambian footballer, Fashion Sakala, accused Avram Grant of partiality. In his words, the coach accused Fashion of being lazy and claimed he was a bad player. There are reports that the coach also blamed Fashion for not contributing much to national football and for being the reason why Zambia lost against Morocco. To Fashion, “you [Grant] just failed the tactics and then you want to put the blame on me….as a coach you need to take responsibility. I respect his decision if he does not want me to be in the squad. If he does not want me in the squad, he can easily drop me and put other players.” Fashion alleged that Grant was forcing him to sign with his agent.
In his defense, the 69-year-old national coach denied the accusations, making reference to his 51 years of coaching experience, during which no one has ever accused him of such allegations. “I told the player that I am not happy with his performance, his efforts, and his behavior before the game against Morocco.” While the other five players called the coach asking about areas of improvement, Fashion reacted differently. Grant expressed the opinion that he expected the player to take responsibility for his behavior and inquire about where they could do better. “This is my job. To keep the harmony of the team… everybody is equal. Nobody is a superstar. Be modest. Your job is to play. No excuses, no complaints,” Grant said. Ultimately, Grant reported that he was driven by the desire to maintain the harmony of the team, not to allow the behavior of superstars or one who is not equal to others.
Clashes between players and coaches are not new. Notable examples include Jadon Sancho against Erik Ten Hag at Manchester United, as well as the famous disputes between Alex Ferguson and David Beckham, and Paul Pogba with José Mourinho. We are not sure who is right between Grant and Fashion, but we can say from history that such differences can never be addressed effectively via social media. It is our opinion that for professional football players, sorting issues via social media or any other platforms outside the club or football structure is hardly fashionable, irrespective of who is right or wrong. It would be interesting, if indeed it is true, to hear from the other five players Grant mentioned about why they chose to react differently to the same message Fashion received. Again, we are unsure who is right between Fashion and Grant.
Overall, this clash helps us think about the role and importance of personal management teams for players. While this might be seen as a cost and burden by players, there are so many things that can go wrong in the short football career that, if not well managed, can lead to an abrupt end of one’s career. We can hope for an amicable solution.
