Cardoso demands player protection after Mokoena’s gruesome injury

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has called on match officials to provide better protection for players after a “horrendous” tackle left star midfielder Teboho Mokoena injured during their recent MTN8 victory over Polokwane City.

Mokoena was the victim of a brutal challenge to his ankle at Lucas Moripe Stadium, forcing him to miss Sundowns’ opening Betway Premiership match against TS Galaxy. The Brazilians managed to win both encounters 3-2.

The severity of the tackle, which saw Polokwane City’s Surprise Mathonsi escape even a yellow card from referee Philangenkosi Khumalo, has drawn widespread criticism. Mokoena is now a doubt for Sundowns’ highly anticipated clash with Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday, a match where both sides aim to maintain their perfect league starts.

Speaking after the win against Galaxy, secured by a late brace from substitute Sphelele Mkhulise, Cardoso voiced his frustration.

Cardoso on player protection

“It is important for me to say South Africa must understand we have to protect our players,” Cardoso stated as quoted by TimesLive. “We cannot come from the World Cup where Teboho was a national hero, and when he is playing his first match on South African soil, we allow such aggressive action over him without it being penalised by a yellow card.”

The coach emphasised the severity of the incident, adding, “This is the injury imposed on Teboho. It was a rough one and the player was not yellow-carded for the action.”

Cardoso clarified that his comments were a constructive call to action rather than a direct criticism of officials.

“We need to protect players who want to play football,” he explained. “As Sundowns, we are a team that wants to play football and we play fair, even though playing fair sometimes is not enough.”

Red cards that were not given

He also referenced the Polokwane City match, suggesting that tougher officiating could have prevented the game from going to extra time. “If you watched the last game properly, at halftime there were two players of the opponent who should have been red-carded,” he said.

🚨🟡🟢 𝐈𝐍𝐉𝐔𝐑𝐘 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: 𝐓𝐄𝐁𝐎𝐇𝐎 𝐌𝐎𝐊𝐎𝐄𝐍𝐀 🩹

Teboho Mokoena has suffered an upper ankle injury and could miss some of Mamelodi Sundowns’ upcoming matches. 🥺🚑

Let’s hope it’s nothing too serious and that he makes a quick return to the pitch. 🙏💛💚

Speedy… pic.twitter.com/k5egB0GSO5

— BlackMarco Sports Clothing (@BlackMarcoSC) August 10, 2026

The coach noted the physical toll on his squad, pointing out that players like Antonio van Wyk and Tashreeq Matthews showed signs of fatigue against TS Galaxy, while Grant Kekana needed time to recover after being “absolutely tired.”

Cardoso also highlighted what he perceives as an inconsistency in officiating, pointing to Sundowns’ disciplinary record from the previous season.

Sundowns coach wonders why no VAR

“We were one of the teams that had more yellow cards throughout the season. The highest one had 58 and we had 53,” he noted. “If you compare with Orlando Pirates, they had almost half of our yellow cards. We had four red cards in actions that were less rough than the one we saw in the last match.”

The Sundowns boss concluded with a renewed appeal for the implementation of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system in South African football.

“We want the games to be played the normal way, especially our games that are technical. The players in the front need to be protected by referees. But they have no help because there is no VAR,” Cardoso said.

“Unfortunately, in South Africa we continue to play without VAR, but throughout Africa more and more countries have it. Morocco, Egypt, Mauritania, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Tunisia have VAR. Even Benin and Ghana are starting experiments with it,” he further stated.