South Africa's coach Ephraim Mashaba's court case has been postponed

Mashaba is arguing that he was not given an opportunity to defend himself.

The coach's case has been adjourned until Thursday to give the South Africa Football Association (Safa) a chance to respond, according Mashaba's lawyer, Selwyn Silent.

Silent also said that negotiations are continuing for an out-of-court settlement, but didn't provide any more details.

Mashaba was suspended earlier in the week for an alleged breach of contract.

Safa says that Mashaba has picked players for the Cup of Nations who are injured or have not played recently.

There has also been criticism that he couldn't get some foreign-based players to play for the team, such as FC Porto striker Benni McCarthy and Charlton defender Mark Fish.

Mashaba would not give the players permission to join the training camp late, which led to both players saying that they were no longer available for Bafana Bafana.

On 7 January Safa gave Mashaba seven days to respond to the charges.

Mashaba then filed legal papers saying that he wasn't given the chance to defend himself before receiving a telephone call to tell him that he was suspended.

"Suspending me without a hearing on the eve of the most prestigious tournament on the African continent is unfair and in breach of my constitutional rights to fair labour practices," Mashaba said in court papers.