Mosimane weighs in on Broos-Mbokazi saga – ‘You can’t say it’s right or wrong, but…’

Celebrated South African coach Pitso Mosimane is the latest football stakeholder in the country to comment on Hugo Broos-Mbekezeli Mbokazi issue.

The Bafana Bafana tactician was furious with the former Orlando Pirates defender for reporting late in camp for the national team’s preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, (AFCON), scheduled to take place in Morocco from December 21 to January 18.

South Africa have been put in Group B alongside record winners Egypt as well as COSAFA duo Zimbabwe and Angola.

While Mosimane feels Broos was within his circle to reprimand Mbokazi, he argues the 73-year-old could have considered employing a better approach.

It is a double-edged sword

“The Mbokazi issue, I’m wondering what happened and what were the messages, did they come on time? We don’t know, he knows,” he said in his interview with Robert Marawa.

“Also, we can’t say… Look, it’s a double-edged sword, where Cassius didn’t play much or didn’t participate much in the MLS. But if we want to flip the coin, we can say what about Munetsi, was it the wrong move?

“You cannot say it’s right or wrong, the proof is in the pudding. We can say Munetsi went to Wolves from MLS [Ligue 1]. And then we can say Cassius didn’t do very well.

“But from the coach’s side, I take the position of the coach – there is nothing wrong for him to be upset that the player is late. Because you need to keep the discipline and you need anybody to know that you respect the national team and you come on time,” Jingles added.

The challenge is communication

“But we don’t know what happened. I’ve been in that place where I can’t even share the challenges because of personal reason that we need to keep to ourselves.

“I used to accept MacBeth Sibaya, coming from Russia. For him to come here it takes 48 hours, and I used to accept him because I know his mentality. I know he’s gonna give everything.

“The challenge is the communication and if he was not briefed properly, he has a right to feel a little bit different, but we don’t know what happened,” Mosimane further explained.

We can’t just blame Mbokazi

“Mbokazi is a young player, you’ve got to have a little bit of room for these young players, yes but you don’t want to compromise the whole team,” the former Mamelodi Sundowns coach added.

“Until we know why Mbokazi didn’t come we can’t just make a real strong comment. But for him to come to late to camp is not right. He’s made a few mistakes on the pitch, he has got emotional a little bit.

“But that does not stop us from seeing he is a TLB, he’s a top player, he’s a young player, he’s an icon in KZN, there is more to come,” Mosimane concluded.