Former Kaizer Chiefs coach Farouk Khan believes the players at the club do not respect the coaches following the dramatic incidents witnessed on Sunday when goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari refused to come off.

Chiefs lost their Carling Knockout Round of 16 clash to Stellenbosch FC on post-match penalties after a goalless draw in regulation time but there was drama leading up to the shootouts.

This because assistant coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef had a hard time making late substitutions designed to give them an edge in the shootouts with midfielder Sibongiseni ‘Ox’ Mthethwa initially refusing to come off, before a change of heart, while Ntwari refused to be substituted for Bruce Bvuma.

Kaze and Ben Youssef ‘lost players’ respect’

Khalil Ben Youssef Kaizer Chiefs — Image – Kaizer Chiefs

It was a show of defiance that left the coaches disappointed as the Rwandan goalkeeper went on to save the first penalty but Chiefs would lose in sudden death after Tashreeq Morris, another late substitute, missed the fifth kick that would have sent the Glamour Boys to the quarter-final.

“The impression it leaves with the fans as far as the coach is concerned. Basically, it tells you that the coach has lost the changing room,” Khan said on SoccerBeat.

“If this happens with these two players [Ntwari and Ox], what does it tell the other players? That they can also do exactly the same.

“You can’t have a situation where you take some players one way and some go the other way. The mere fact that initially Ox refused, he did not want to come off, as a player, when the coach makes a substitution, irrespective of the decision, you have to make sure you walk off the field.

Have Chiefs coaches set a bad precedent?

“Ntwari was just like; ‘I am not going off’ and at the end of the day, the coaches had to eat humble pie and accept the fact. So, they [coaches] have just lost the respect not only of the fans but the players as well.

“They have set the precedent now and once you as the coaches know you have lost the changing room, you are destined for disaster moving forward. Especially now that the result is negative, everyone will dissect the situation.”

Khan also went on to hit out at the Chiefs coaches for making the changes so late in the game and singled out their decision to allow Morris to take what would have been the winning penalty when he had hardly touched the ball following his introduction.

Khan slams Tashreeq Morris decision

Tashreeq Morris Kaizer Chiefs debut against AmaZulu. Photo Kaizer Chiefs

“They [coaches] left it for the very last minute as well so I think the technical team got it totally wrong,” he added.

“You bring in Morris, he hardly touches the ball and you are giving him a pressure penalty, one that decides the outcome and you could see in his eyes, he was not confident at all.”

Commenting on the incident after the match, Kaze admitted Ntwari’s refusal to come off spoiled their gameplan as they had worked on it while promising to deal with the matter internally.

The goalkeeper had made his first start at Chiefs in nearly a year, having fallen down the pecking order last season, with Bvuma and Brandon Petersen preferred ahead of him.