The SA Football Association (Safa) is preparing "to throw the book" at Ajax Cape Town if the club fails to honour an away CAF Confederation Cup fixture against Sagrada Esperanca in Angola on Saturday.

Incensed Safa chief executive Dennis Mumble said yesterday that they have several options at their disposal and they could even ask the Premier Soccer League to remove Ajax from the top flight roster if the Cape club continues to persist with attempts to withdraw from the continental tournament.

"For us to be disrespected in this manner is just not on," a livid Mumble said. "Our position is they will not be allowed to withdraw from this competition. The rules are very clear here and the consequences will be massive if they do not get on that plane to Angola."

Ajax officials claimed they feared for the safety of their players and announced an intention not to travel to Angola.

The Safa chiefs said they were not amused that Ajax elected to communicate their intentions via the media.

"I am charging them for violating the communications protocols in that regard. This is just the first step and I intend to take further action against them. We are really not happy and we will take disciplinary action against them."

Ajax claimed in the withdrawal statement they issued last week that the communication between themselves and their Angola hosts was poor and attempts to get final word on travel arrangements had failed.

But Mumble said this was puzzling as the Angola club disputed the Cape club's version of events. Sowetan has seen a copy of an email sent by the Angolans disputing Ajax's claims.

Ajax could not be reached for comment.