South African champions Santos have taken legal action to prevent their coach Gordon Igesund from moving to rival club Ajax Cape Town, the club's lawyer said on Thursday.
Santos have served papers on both Igesund and Ajax Cape Town in a bid to stop the coach's defection from the recently-crowned champions.
Ajax, an affiliate of their Dutch namesakes, were due to name Igesund as their new coach on Thursday but cancelled the planned announcement after being served with papers.
"Santos are seeking that Ajax stop any efforts they are making to help Igesund breach his contract," said Santos's lawyer Alex Abercrombie in Cape Town.
"Igesund has a season left on his contract and the club want him to fulfil it."
The 45-year-old Igesund has proved the most successful coach in South Africa over the last decade, winning three championships with three different clubs. In May, he took the unfashionable Santos, a club with limited financial resources and meagre support, to their first-ever Premier League title. Last year, he coached Orlando Pirates to the title and, in 1997, won the South African league with Durban club Manning Rangers.
Igesund did not travel to the World Cup as national coach Jomo Sono's adviser after Sono attacked him in a newspaper article on the eve of the finals. Santos want Igesund for their 2003 African Champions League campaign. - Reuters