Former Sligo Rovers, Bohs, Dundalk and Galway United manager Sean Connor joined Zimbabwean side CAPS United as manager in January of last year. He was sacked back in August though and has since been battling to get his $100,000 severance package which was awarded to him by the Commercial Centre for Arbitration in Zimbabwe.
CAPS United appealed the decision but the matter has not yet been taken to court. In the interim, Connor has undergone some visa problems in Zimbabwe which have forced him to leave the country and is currently living in South Africa.
Quoted in Zimbabwean newspaper the Herald, Connor's agent said:
He is in South Africa and has been there for two or three weeks now and he is bitter about what is happening to him right now
His passport is still with the Department of Immigration and for him to get into South Africa we had to liaise with the Irish consulate. He got a call that he should leave and left by bus and it was a horrendous experience for him.
Sean has no intention of coming back to stay in Zimbabwe, he just wants to have his case with CAPS United finalised so that he can get his dues and we are waiting for the courts to give us a date as to when the case will be determined. It’s not a good situation that Sean is right now.
In desperation, Connor wrote a letter to a friend telling him of his plight:
Right now my life is on hold as I try to sort this issue out. I know you owe me nothing but I feel I can trust you and we did get on together when I stayed with you. I hope you can help in some way.
I have enough money to stay here for four days, then I do not know what to do. The money I have was got together by my family but when I was forced to leave Zim, I have spent a lot more than planned on accommodation, food etc.
I know it will be difficult for you to let me stay at your home. I really hope you can help.
He had been earning US$4,000 per month plus a US$400 winning bonus as manager of CAPS United.
