A street vendor learnt the hard way when he tried to greet and take photos with former Bafana Bafana midfielder, Andile Jali. Ace Matea from Daveyton in Ekurhuleni says all he got from his football idol were insults.

REFUSED TO TAKE PIX WITH FANS

Matea said he was excited to see his idol close to where he works in the township for the first time. Speaking to ZiMoja, Matea said when he saw Jali passing by his stall, he praised him and told him how much he loves and appreciate him, but he was offish. "He went to the car where he was sitting with someone and drinking. Together with the other guys who saw him, we asked if we could take pictures with him, next thing he was hurling insults at us. He told us how stupid we are and that we were low lives who will never amount to anything. He asked if we knew h how much his pictures are worth," Matea said. He said one of the guys tried to diffuse the situation by asking for a drink from Jali only to make matters worse. Matea said Jali asked the guy if he looked like the type who could share booze nezibanxa( imbeciles ) and low lives like them. " Matea said he had lost respect for Jali and will never look at him the same. He said that at first he thought maybe Jali was drunk. Judging by his rage, he is definitely going through something. "I forgive him but I think he needs help. He is a broken man, I can tell" he said.

CAREER HANGING BY A THREAD 

Jali's soccer career is in limbo after 22 players who protested over salaries in December were sacked by Moroka Swallows. The Dube Birds forfeited six points and was fined a staggering R1m by the PSL disciplinary committee for failing to honour DStv Premiership matches against Mamelodi Sundowns and Golden Arrows in December, respectively. The former Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder wanted to return to Swallows after being fired. But he lost his case at the PSL's Dispute Resolution (DRC) Chamber and was ordered to pay costs of the DRC sitting.

SOOCER BAD BOY 

Before joining Swallows, Jali had a run in with coach Rhulani Mokwena at Sundowns when he arrived in training intoxicated. That was when his contract was terminated by The Brazilians. After winning league and cup honours at Pirates, Jali moved overseas where he played for Belgian side, KV Oostende, where he briefly worked with current South Africa national team coach Hugo Broos. Jali, a regular at Bafana Bafana but did not feature in the African Cup of Nations, which ended in Ivory Coast last week Sunday. Called for comment Jali asked to be left alone. "Leave me alone," he said before dropping the phone.