Former Bafana Bafana and Mamelodi Sundowns player Thabo Nthethe believes Hugo Broos criticising Mbekezeli Mbokazi in public was not the right platform to admonish his player.
Before Bafana began their Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) campaign, Broos did not take kindly to the news of Mbokazi’s move to Chicago Fire.
At just 20, Mbokazi moving to the USA at this stage of his career was not a good move according to the tactician.
It was a press conference filled with controversy as Broos did not hold back, as his comments about the player and his agent were also seen as sexist and racist. Safa and Broos would later put out a statement distancing the coach and themselves from the allegations.
Nthethe Criticises Coach Broos’s Public Remarks on Players
“I wouldn’t be happy to hear my coach speak like that about me. I mean, to the nation at large, it now looks like I’m losing respect. I don’t respect my teammates, I don’t respect the coaches as a technical team, and I don’t respect the nation as a whole,” Nthethe told SportsBoom.co.za in an exclusive interview.
“So that’s the feeling that I would get. I mean, the coach to speak like that about him, obviously, I think the boy cannot be happy with that.”
Broos was well within his rights to criticise the player’s decision to join Chicago Fire, but perhaps a public forum was not the best place to air his views.
Broos also had harsh words for Mbokazi for being late to arrive at the training camp.
“Honestly, I think with the situation of Mbokazi, him missing a flight in Durban, I think there is something that made him miss that flight, and now he missed that flight after he just signed with Chicago in the MLS. So, a lot of people will talk, and I heard also the coach, how he spoke about him, that he won’t tolerate that,” Nthethe said.
“I think Mbokazi needs to be honest because this thing only happens now, and it’s the first time that Mbokazi has missed a flight or come late to the national team camp. Now, when he comes late like this and gives the Chicago deal, and that he’s leaving Pirates, a lot of people will say he might be big-headed or stuff like that.”
@Michael_Sherman
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