Jonty Mark and John Goliath
Johannesburg: Lerato Chabangu says it is Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula who is the “loser”, following his attack on Bafana’s players after their early exit from the African Nations Championship (Chan).
Chabangu was part of Gordon Igesund’s squad that were knocked out in the group stages, and admitted yesterday that he was upset by Mbalula’s comments, where the sports minister branded Bafana’s players as “useless” and a “bunch of losers”, following their defeat to Nigeria in their final group match.
“Obviously it is bad,” said Chabangu. “You can’t call your sons a bunch of losers. It affects your family… he is a loser, he must call himself a bunch of losers.
“I was frustrated (by his comments) because we were disappointed coming from the tournament, and then another person comes and calls you such (names). How are you going to get respect on the street from your fans?”
Chabangu also gave his backing to Igesund to continue as the coach. “If you stop and change it is going to cause lots of problems,” said the Moroka Swallows playmaker.
“You can see his results. I think we have played 29 games, lost eight and drawn seven and won the rest. So there is an improvement. Unfortunately we didn’t get the luck we expected (in Chan).”
Meanwhile, a strong delegation from the Premier Soccer League (PSL), including chairman Irvin Khoza, Kaizer Motaung and John Comitis, met ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe and three of the ruling party’s executive members to discuss Mbalula’s comments and the issues surrounding the release of players for Chan.
The PSL’s leadership are upset and feel that they were also portrayed in a bad light by Mbalula’s rant. They also clarified the issue surrounding some clubs’ initial decision not release players for the tournament.