Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says he will have a frank, pep talk with Mbekezeli Mbokazi, after the young defender arrived late in camp ahead of their final Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
“Mbokazi, he just arrived or will arrive in 15 minutes,” Broos told the media during a press conference at the High-Performance Centre at the University of Pretoria on Wednesday.
“I didn’t want to talk about it, but you asked the question, and you have the right to know that I’m not pleased about it. He [Mbokazi] let us know that he missed his flight yesterday [on Tuesday] in Durban; it was the coach of Pirates [Abdeslam Ouaddou] who informed me.
“And he was very angry that he missed his flight because, and that’s his word, ‘it’s an unprofessional attitude’. And I think I spoke already to you about the unprofessional attitude of South African players.
Broos went on to say he received communication from Pirates stating the reasons behind the 20-year-old’s late arrival.
“Again, an example of it. Then Pirates sent me a message with nonsense – really nonsense, why he missed his flight, and I will not tell you what they said – and that is the worst thing that a club protects the player for his unprofessional attitude.
“This is South Africa, and this is very bad – very, very bad. When you’re a 19-year-old guy, and you receive a call-up from the national team for Afcon, and to play the World Cup next year, and the coach gives you a few more days off, if you are somebody with a good attitude, you don’t even want those two days, and you are here on Monday with the other players.
“So, I will have a chat with him after training. And I can assure you, he is a black guy, and he will get out of my room as a white guy. Because I can’t accept. But I know why, I know why. Suddenly, Mboki is a star – he thinks he is a star!
“This is the attitude of a star, ‘I will decide when I come’. I will explain it to him. I’m very angry, very angry about his attitude,” Broos added.
Bafana kick off their Afcon campaign in Morocco against Angola on 22 December.
