Botha versus the Bulls - the latest
Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:52
Centre stage: Bakkies Botha and Wynand Olivier
Bernie Habana, father and representative of the 2007 International Rugby Board (IRB) Player of the Year Bryan Habana, has broken his silence on his role in the protracted saga between Bakkies Botha and the Bulls.
Botha has taken to the courts to get his contract with the Bulls annulled, in order to take up an offer from French Second Division (Pro D2) club Toulon.
The court case, scheduled for Wednesday in the Johannesburg labour court, has been postponed till May 30 in order to allow the Bulls a "fair and reasonable chance" to prepare for the case.
While the two parties' lawyers work out the finer details, Botha will continue to play for the Bulls in the Super 14 competition.
In the meantime, Habana Senior has been blamed for much of what has gone wrong in the ongoing tug-of-war between the Bulls and Toulon over the services of the World Cup-winning lock, Botha.
In fact, Habana Snr has even been linked to an alleged threat by the players - Botha, Habana Junior and Wynand Olivier - to strike if the contract issue is not resolved in a satisfactory manner.
Weekend newspapers reported that the details of the alleged strike formed part of the 144 pages of affidavits which Botha gave in as supporting documentation for his claim at the Labour Court to have his contracts with the Blue Bulls Company (BBC) and SA Rugby declared null and void.
"It is the biggest rubbish out," Bernie Habana told rugby365.com, when asked about the alleged strike threat. "I have no idea where these reports have their origins. This story about players who are threatening to strike, if Bakkies' stuff is not resolved, is totally untrue.
"I have the court documents in front of me and there is nothing about that in these documents. It is not in my statement to the court and certainly not in the statement made by Bakkies to the court.
"I did receive an email from Barend van Graan [BBC CEO] in which he said that I threatened that Bryan [Habana], Bakkies [Botha] and Wynand [Olivier] would withhold their services, but I have never said anything like that.
"There has never been a threat [to strike] and it has never been part of our plans. There has been enough opportunities [to strike], but I have always insisted that they remain professional in their conduct at the Bulls and towards the players and fans," Habana Senior told this website.
Habana Snr, who went out to set the record straight on a number of issues bandied about in the media on the entire saga, also dismissed the suggestion that he was responsible for negotiating the contract between Botha and Toulon.
"Bakkies has an agreement with Toulon which was done through a French agent, not through me," Habana explained.
"In France, there is a regulation that only French agents can negotiate, so the reports that I did the deal is rubbish. An agent by the name of Stephane Dray did the deal... it certainly wasn't negotiated by Bernie Habana.
"I just passed the documentation on," he said, adding that the Toulon deal couldn't kick in until Botha gets clearance from SA Rugby and the Bulls - which is what the entire court case is about.
Habana slammed the claims that he misrepresented the players and had no legal right to represent them, as he is not a registered agent. He said that he does not act as an agent and does not take commission from the players - Habana Jnr, Botha and Olivier.
In fact, Botha and Olivier approached him, Habana Snr, to act on their behalf and he did not approach them.
Habana Snr has also revealed that he is footing the bill for Botha's court case and that Botha is not paying a cent - making a mockery of the media claims that he is in it for "personal gain".
However, as the father of Bryan Habana he is legally entitled to act on his behalf, according to SA Rugby regulations.
The situation surrounding Botha and Olivier appears to be cloudy at best, with Habana claiming the BBC are as much to blame as he may be.
"I certainly don't see myself as an agent. I am simply there to help the players," said Bernie.
"However, what puzzles me is when I negotiated on behalf of Bakkies and Wynand in 2006, this issue, of me not being an agent, was never raised?
"The Bulls are effectively in the same situation as myself. Why did they not tell me in 2006 that I was not allowed to negotiate on behalf of Bakkies and Wynand?
"Why is this now suddenly being raised?"
Habana said one of the critical issues, which will come out in the court case, is what he feels is an abuse of the players' intellectual property rights (the right to use a player's image for commercial gain).
Habana said there are two key elements to the dispute.
The one being that the players have only signed a "letter of intent" to stay with the Bulls - Habana Jnr and Olivier till 2009, with Botha's document stating that he would stay on until 2011.
However, while they have signed the 'letter of intent', none of the players signed what many people regard as the most crucial document in any player-employer deal - the Players' Collective Bargaining Agreement (PCBA).
"In that [PCBA] 'contract' there is a clause which stipulates that you can negotiate with the union in regards to the player's intellectual property rights.
"In 2004 when I negotiated with the Bulls, I negotiated an annexure to Brian's contract in regards to his intellectual property rights and I just wanted to do the same for Bakkies and Wynand.
"And that is what it is all about. There has been a lot of written communications between the Bulls and ourselves, but have we only signed a letter of intent - stating the contract will become effective once we have agreed to and signed the Players Collective Bargaining Agreement.
"Everybody is under impression that the contract is not valid until the PCBA has been signed and none of Bryan, Wynand or Bakkies have singed the PCBA," Habana Snr said.
He added that he felt there has not been enough "education" of the players to inform them of their rights and that is why these misunderstandings creep in.
"It's almost like the blind leading the bind," Habana said about the current set-up in SA Rugby in regards to players' contracts.
By Jan de Koning
