Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has responded to social media critics following the national team’s early exit from the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), referring to various social media platforms as trash.
Broos has since received a lot of stick from a section of South African football fans, who scrutinised and questioned some of his selections before and during the Afcon in Morocco.
In the Last 16 game against Cameroon, many were against the formation and starting line-up that the Belgian tactician picked, which comprised seven defensive players.
His substitutions were also interrogated, with some suggesting that he should have introduced the likes of Sipho Mbule and Evidence Makgopa earlier.
Speaking to the media at the OR International Airport, where the team was welcomed by a small crowd on Wednesday morning, Broos said he never reads what is written on social media and will not allow people from various social media platforms to influence his decisions.
“First of all, I don’t read social media because it’s filled with trash,” Broos declared. “With 40 years of experience, I know that when a team is winning, people remain quiet, but once there is a defeat, they suddenly have a lot to say.
“So, that is what is happening now; people are expressing many opinions, and I am aware of that.
“It’s been four years in the job, and I have never listened to them, nor will I listen to them in my last six months.”
Bafana will now set their sights on the upcoming 2026 Fifa World Cup in June, and Broos says he will have a thorough evaluation of his squad in the coming days ahead of the global showpiece.
“As I said, I think in the next days and weeks, we will have the time to evaluate [our performance in] this Afcon and decide what was good and what was not good.”
