Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has fired a broadside against their opponents Al Ahly, whom he said they always complain about the referees when they lose.
The DStv Premiership will face the Egyptian giants in the second leg of the African Football League (AFL) semi-finals on Wednesday in Cairo. This is after Sundowns won the first encounter 1-0 at the Loftus Stadium on Sunday.
Al Ahly head coach Marcel Koller shared his thoughts and expressed his anger on the match referees and the VAR officials in post-match interview on Sunday. He asked where VAR is when the referee is not checking for penalty.
“I am very surprised that Al Ahly complain about everything,” said Mokwena. “Before the first leg, Al Ahly complained that we played at 3pm and yet they are allowed to schedule the game at their time that suits them. You hear no complaints from Mamelodi Sundowns.
“I am surprised that Al Ahly is always complaining about the referees only when they lose. Jose Mourinho once said that when a big club is starting to look for other factors, apart from football when they lose, they start losing their status as a big club,” Mokwena added.
“And I hope that’s not the case with Al Ahly because they are the flagship of African football. The rest of the world and Europe look at Al Ahly as a reflection of what African football represents.
“My question after the complaint is, what is really the intention? Because I can go through a list of incidents, where the referees did not act what I thought was the just way. And first let’s acknowledge that Hany Mohamed comes into the match already with a yellow card, and the rules are if he picks up a second yellow he misses the next match,” Mokwena continued.
“He makes two clear fouls against Thapelo Maseko, no yellow. There is a sliding tackle from Ateya Marwan on Gaston Sirino in front of the box. Persistent fouling is a cautionable offence. When an opponent is better than you, we shake hands. You must show good sportsmanship, you must congratulate your opponent. And you make sure that the game of football remains the game of football, which is the game that we all love and the beautiful game.”
Mokwena explained further: “At the end of the match, Sundowns has seven fouls and get two yellow cards – Al Ahly 13 fouls and they get one yellow card. I think If there is a team that must complain, it should be Sundowns.
“Sundowns had 67% ball possession and our opponents 33%. But like I said that it is only half time, and that we are playing against a very good side with good pedigree on the continent particular at club competitions. We need to play than we did in the first match order to get a good result.”
