The Sissako clan, feeling aggrieved, appealed to the players' union, United Athletes (formerly “Sporta”). “The player contacted us the same dayexplains Sébastien Stassin, secretary for the football sector at UA. In this case, the club dismissed him for serious misconduct. In my opinion, this is not one of them. We have one year to file a complaint. We are not going to wait that long: we are calmly preparing the file. Either way, the player, unfortunately for him, given his injury, doesn't know how to do much. But he works individually. We will contact the club through our lawyer and see how far it goes.”
Possible legal action
For Stassin, posting a photo is not a reason that no longer allows the club to work with the player. He hasn't had to deal with exactly this kind of situation yet. “One thing is certain: if Moussa Sissako had been 100% in order, he would still have been under contract at RWDM and would have played the playdowns. If he is not injured, the club will never throw him out. If, for example, Biron had done it, the same thing would not have happened to him. I will not go ahead and say that his dismissal is due to financial reasons but everyone can think so…”
The end of four months of famine for Gueye and the RWDM: “We needed this victory so much”
The case may result in legal action if the RWDM does not react to the union's letters or if it reacts in a way with which UA does not agree. The procedure could take a year to go before a court. “If not longer because the Belgian system is not the fastest.”
Several arguments for the defense
That Sissako, who was loaned to RWDM by Sochiwore his brother's jersey outside the club's infrastructure is one of the arguments to be made in his defense. “The RWDM did not have the possibility of providing care and told the player: 'You can go externally because we do not have the means to do it'… At that moment, the boy carries out his revalidation in a private place, where you have the right to wear whatever you want. He doesn't have the club clothes because all that stayed in Molenbeek. We also have to differentiate between two things: although the jersey he wore is that of an opposing club, it is the jersey of his brother to whom Moussa is attached. Abdoulaye's jersey was there. I'm not even sure the player realized what jersey he had on. He just said to himself: 'Okay, I have a jersey, I'm going to train'.”
Moment when the owner of the room where Sissako chose to publish this photo on Instagram. “Without thinking, Moussa reposted it to say: 'Here, I'm working on my rehabilitation and I want to get back in shape'.”
The defender then received a message from the RWDM explaining to him that he could not do that, says Stassin. The Malian apologized and the post was removed an hour later. “Is this smart? No. But does this justify the impossibility of still working together? No way. Otherwise I think Lamkel Zé would have been kicked out 25 times in Antwerp. Something that had not been done. And why ? Because Antwerp knows very well that it is not possible to fire someone for this reason…”
The RWDM “confident about the decision”
Contacted by us, the player did not wish to react. On the other hand, the RWDM, via Maxime Vossen, its Chief Operating Officer (COO), clarified its position: “The club is confident in the decision that was taken. Moussa and his entourage are free to try to win their case, we will see what the decision will be taken by the court if the case ends up before it. We would have liked to know the opinion of his ex-club, Standard, if Moussa had publicly worn an Anderlecht jersey printed with his brother's name at the time…”
