Federation hits out at runaway coach Put for ‘breaking trust’

What you need to know:

  • Football Kenya Federation have refuted claims that they refused to allow Harambee Stars play friendly international matches against strong opponents as alleged by former national team coach Paul Put last weekend.
  • The federation have also denied claims that they refused to allow Put to pick his preferred technical bench staff, saying that FKF had in fact agreed to this proposal and had tabled a budget to the Ministry of Sports for the hiring of these personnel.
  • In a detailed rejoinder sent to newsrooms Monday, FKF Communications manager Barry Otieno said that Put had adopted an unprofessional conduct following his resignation.

Football Kenya Federation have refuted claims that they refused to allow Harambee Stars play friendly international matches against strong opponents as alleged by former national team coach Paul Put last weekend.

The federation have also denied claims that they refused to allow Put to pick his preferred technical bench staff, saying that FKF had in fact agreed to this proposal and had tabled a budget to the Ministry of Sports for the hiring of these personnel.

In a detailed rejoinder sent to newsrooms Monday, FKF Communications manager Barry Otieno said that Put had adopted an unprofessional conduct following his resignation.

Barry accused the Belgian coach of trashing the trust the federation and Kenyan people had given him.

FKF official charged that Put wanted to be issued with a Kenyan Passport, as he could not travel to Belgium to renew his current one due to a pending court case.

“The federation feels that the coach has broken the trust, professionalism and duty entrusted by the federation on him,” said Barry.

The federation also stated that the former Gambia and Guinea coach wanted to organise all national team friendlies through his agent at a cost of Sh3 million per match, a request they rejected since it was “expensive and of no value”.

Put resigned as Harambee Stars coach on February 19, just 74 days into his contract.

Then, the federation said that the Belgian had cited personal reasons for his decision to quit, although Put stated otherwise in an exclusive interview carried by Nation Sport on Sunday.

In the interview, the Belgian revealed that his decision to quit was informed by sheer lack of support from FKF, unwillingness to face strong opposition in friendly matches, and a rejection of his request to incorporate his own helpers into the technical bench.

FKF have however dismissed all these allegations, with the rebuttal indicating that among other things, Put wanted to have a motivational video shot specifically by Canal Plus, and a change of his payment from US Dollars to Euros.

All these demands the federation refused to grant him, which brought their relationship to an acrimonious end.

“The coach was made aware of the federation’s position on the matter (of passport issuance) and asked him to sort out his court case with his lawyers,” Barry stated.

“The coach was also made aware of the decision that the monetary terms would not be changed just months into his contract as it would mean paying more than the two parties had agreed.”

Stanley Okumbi is now the stand in coach.