Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has reacted to the chaotic scenes at Mbombela on Tuesday evening and also addressed the lawsuit filed by TS Galaxy.
The Tshwane giants and The Rockets played to an entertaining 1-1 draw, a match filled with emotions both on and off the field at Mbombela StadiumMasandawana are now just one match from becoming the first team in SA to complete an invincible DStv Premiership season.
Hours before the match, it was reported that Galaxy had filed a lawsuit against Mokwena for allegedly making defamatory comments against coach Sead Ramovic during a post-match interview in April.
A rough tackle on Sundowns midfielder Bongani Zungu in the April league tie sparked accusations of revenge from Mokwena, hinting it was payback for Zungu’s leg-breaking challenge on Bernard Parker last October.
Mokwena accused Ramovic of instructing his players to injure Sundowns midfielder Zungu.
As expected, the tensions between the two teams have also escalated on the field, as was evident on Tuesday night. Both coaches also had to be whisked away by their respective team officials as emotions were too high after the match.
“The first half is a clear penalty, [Siyabonga] Mabena’s incident in the second half is a clear penalty. There are so many fouls that go against us. Marcelo Allende gets stamped on his hand, and then he gets a yellow. They scored, and the whole bench just jumped into our faces and showed so much disrespect.
“So I don’t like that, and I am not involved in football for that. Sorry, I love football for friendships. I love football for memories, for the purity of the game and what it brings to people. So playing TS Galaxy at the moment is torture, something I don’t enjoy at the moment, no.”
Regarding TS Galaxy taking him to the High Court, Mokwena said, “No, I don’t want to talk about anything. They have taken me to court. So let’s meet in court.”“I don’t worry about TS Galaxy; I have to worry about Sundowns. I am employed by Sundowns. In this moment with the feelings that I have, I have to be very proud of my players because it was a difficult game to play.
“It was very tough, emotionally, physically and really they dug deep and showed incredible mentality. That’s the feeling I would like to leave Mbombela with. I would like to leave Mbombela with a feeling of pride, gratitude, and appreciation for the efforts and hard work of these special Mamelodi Sundowns group of players.”
