Thamsanqa Gabuza innocent until proven guilty - TS Galaxy coach

The 36-year-old was granted R3000 bail in Alexandre, having handed himself over on the back of being charged with malicious damage to property and attempted rape – the latter accusations his lawyer claimed was a rumour.

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With Gabuza spotted at training ahead of their Carling Knockout Cup semi-final tie away to AmaZulu on Sunday, coach Ramovic was asked about the matter. 

"Gabuza is a fantastic human being, and I don't have any problem with him around discipline. What happened is still not [tried], it's still in the case right," defended Ramovic.

"So I don't know [what the facts are], but I will treat him, until the case is done, with a lot of respect because I've known him now since July."

It’s not the first time Gabuza finds himself on the wrong side of the law – the former Orlando Pirates, Golden Arrows and SuperSport United forward was arrested in 2017 for a similar offense, but nothing came of the incident. 

Ramovic added the player has been “professional” throughout. 

"He's a fantastic human being, very professional, a good guy, and we'll treat him just like we've always done with a lot of respect and yes, he's a very important part of this club and team," he added.

It remains to be seen if his off-field issues will hurt his chances of selection by Ramovic, but for now the coach insists he remains part of the plans. 

"He's a fantastic player, but like I always say, we have 23 fantastic players in our squad, so it's not easy to play and get the game-time that makes us happy," pointed out the Bosnian.

"So everyone has to train well, everyone has to show quality everyday and try to improve because this is the only way to have a chance to get game-time, but Gabuza until now has been very professional and great, and we are happy to have him in our squad."

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