Kamohelo Mokotjo’s social media post yesterday putting his Bafana Bafana career on hold is not enough for Safa to recognise his self-imposed exile from the national team, spokesperson Dominic Chimhavi said.
The FC Twente midfielder ruled himself out of future national team call-ups when he announced on Instagram that he would not report for duty ‘until circumstances change’. But Chimhavi said they would prefer to have this communicated directly to Safa in order to open up a dialogue with the player regarding his grievances.
It is no secret that Mokotjo’s main concern is the lack of game time under current Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba, who selected the player for his side’s back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Cameroon last month only to leave him out of the squad in the first match and on the bench for the second. Mokotjo sat in the stands during Bafana’s 2-2 draw away to the Indomitable Lions and was an unused substitute for the return match in Durban three days later, which ended goalless.
Mashaba, who has in the past labelled Mokotjo as ‘heavy’ as well as ‘sluggish’ and omitted him from his squad for the Afcon tournament in Equatorial Guinea last year, suggested that the 25-year-old former junior national team captain did not work hard enough in training to earn a place in the team. In an interview with a Dutch newspaper at the weekend, Mokotjo lifted the lid on his seemingly complex relationship with the Bafana coach.
“He (Mashaba) clearly has a problem with me. It’s really a personal thing,” Mokotjo told De Telegraph. “I am one of the highest rated players in South Africa and he continues to treat me (like this). And he also has a big mouth in the media. Am I still available for the national team? I’ll have to think about.”
It appears Mokotjo has given a lot of thought to his Bafana future following yesterday’s social media post, which read: “It is very unfortunate that current circumstances are not conducive for me to break into the Bafana line-up and I respect the decisions of the technical team led by coach Shakes Mashaba.”
“I hereby wish to notify you all that I will not honour the national team call-ups in the near future until circumstances change. Please respect the decision I have taken. It was not an easy one as I love my country with all of my heart.”
Safa, through Chimhavi, said Mokotjo would have to follow the proper procedures, similar to when May Mahlangu wrote an e-mail to the association asking to be withdrawn from a Bafana camp ahead of an Afcon qualifier against Sudan in November 2014 because he needed rest. The association banned the midfielder from the national team only to kiss and make up three months later after a disastrous tournament in which Mashaba had excluded most of Bafana’s European-based contingent, including Mokotjo.
“We cannot comment on what the media is reporting. Only if we receive a letter from the player as an official statement can Safa begin to engage him on what the issues are. There are proper channels of engagement,” Chimhavi said on Mokotjo. - The Star