Sead Ramovic, the coach of TS Galaxy, has taken aim at Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena, claiming that he insulted him over a heated phone call.
According to Ramovic, Mokwena screamed at him, insulted him, and asked him if he knew his parents in the context of South African football.
Mokwena’s uncle, Jomo Sono, is possibly one of the greatest players and coaches South Africa has ever produced. His father, Julius “KK” Sono, is a legend of the Orlando Pirates.
Ramovic went on a full-blown tirade against the 37-year-old Mokwena while speaking at the Nedbank Cup Last 32 media briefing at the PSL offices in Parktown.
On Friday night, Galaxy will play strugglers Golden Arrows at the Mpumalanga Stadium in Hammarsdale, KwaZulu Natal.
During the press briefing, profanity was also not held back.
This after the Rockets eliminated Sundowns from the Carling Knockout last year, where Mokwena claimed he was missing seven players from the team and ultimately sparked the feud between the two coaches.
Looking down on Galaxy’s achievements
Ramovic took offence at this, saying that the Masandawana coach was disdaining his team, the team’s accomplishments, and his own labour in that game.
Galaxy won the last 16 tie 5-4 on penalties.
Said Ramovic: “I did not come to South Africa to fight with anyone; my goal was not to make headlines.
“I came here for my team to improve and for my club to improve; maybe one day, when I leave the club, a new coach will come and find a top club so that they can continue to have more success. This is my goal.
“And if we win a game against them [Sundowns] and if someone like Rulani undermines or disrespects the hard work of my players, I will raise my voice and protect my players.
“They spent over R150-million in the last two seasons on players, which means they have a squad of unbelievable quality.”
We do not have financial muscle
Ramovic explained further: “If a coach loses against us with players that we bought from the NFD [National First Division] and amateur leagues, they must not become disrespectful. We do not have financial muscle, but we find a way to compete and improve.
“My players work hard every day, and he [Rulani] came up with a cheap excuse that he did not have seven players.
“Those players that played against us were top-notch, and they can win the league. It means that if he does not have plan B, it says a lot about his quality.
“After a month, when we were driving to Mbombela Stadium, I got a call from him. He started to yell and scream, and he spoke for about 10 minutes.
‘He yelled:, ‘Who the f!#k are you to come to my f!#%ng country and talk to me like this? Do you know who my parents are? Be careful how you talk to me because you are in my country’.”
Disappointed to be treated like that
He continued: “I told him that I do not care who his parents are, and he hung up the phone. This was his high standard of morale.
“I was very disappointed to be treated like this by a colleague; it was very small-minded talk. I want to clarify this, Sundowns is a beautiful club with high standards of morale. The players and the supporters are also top-notch; it is just the case with his behaviour.
“I have principles and values, and I stick to them. I had one assistant coach; he disrespected our players, and I sent him home.”
