NAMIBIAN soccer player Denzyl Bruwer, who plays for Ajax Cape Town in South Africa, is claimed to have tested positive for an illegal substance.
It is not yet known what substance is allegedly involved. There is also no indication whether his South African club will suspend him.According to Ajax spokesman Thabiso Mahlatsi, the former Brave Warriors and Civics goalkeeper tested positive in December just before the holiday break.Bruwer is currently in Swakopmund and did not return to the club after the Christmas break for their pre-season training camp.Brave Warriors team manager Tim Isaacs said finding a banned substance in a player’s urine sample does not necessarily mean he or she has used illegal drugs. A positive test could be from prescribed medication or even food, he said, and it would be unfair to label someone a drug user before determining exactly what substance had been found.Apparently Bruwer (32) was at home when the results came out and it appears that he opted to remain in Namibia rather than return to South Africa to defend himself.’Since Bruwer did not return, the club was left with no option but to terminate his contract. He still has two years left on his contract.’We tried to persuade him to return but to no avail. Apparently he was afraid of further embarrassment,’ Mahlatsi claimed.Yesterday, Bruwer told The Namibian that he has not received any official communication from his club, or the PSL, about him testing positive for a banned substance.’I can confirm that they carried out a random test after our match against Free State Stars. I was taken in for the test with three other players. But after that, I was never informed about the result of the test and up to now, no one has contacted me. I was not even asked to go for a disciplinary hearing or anything. So I am not guilty until the time comes for me to defend myself,’ he said.He said his main reason for staying behind was a contractual dispute with the club.’You see, these guys agreed to pay for my accommodation and other expenses, but they did not. They also did not honour their commitment to pay me my salary as we agreed. So those are the main two reasons why I chose to stay behind. Not the doping tests that were done,’ he said.Bruwer, also a NawaSport Ambassador (an organisation which promotes a healthy lifestyle among sports people), said he has no intention of going back to Ajax Cape Town.’By now, they must have acquired another goalkeeper and I don’t think it will be wise for me to go back. I will now see if I can settle in one of the lower-division leagues here in the Erongo Region. I also received offers from premiership clubs here, so I will consider that in future. But for now, I don’t need to go back to South Africa as I have no business there,’ he said.The Namibia Premier League (NPL) is not a professional league and does not require players to pass drug tests.For the national team players, Fifa sends officials to conduct random drug tests.For the Brave Warriors’ last match against Zimbabwe, random tests were done on Sydney Plaatjies and George Hummel, who both tested clean.corry@namibian.com.na
