Johannesburg – Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Pitso Mosimane says he is not willing to tolerate unnecessary showboating in the professional game.
He was speaking after Sundowns' 6-0 thrashing of Orlando Pirates on the weekend resulted in a pitch invasion and crowd violence 82 minutes into the match, the game being completed an hour later after calm had been restored.
At one point of the match at the Loftus Stadium, Mosimane was seen reprimanding midfielder Percy Tau after some overelaborate play on the ball. The former Bafana Bafana coach says he understands that skill and flair are part of South African football, but says it should not be part of the game and that opponents should be respected.
"I am always against it. I don't like it," he said. "You need to respect Pirates. You saw what happened [with the violence on Saturday]. Imagine if we started to showboat, worse would have happened because you are playing with the emotions of people.
"It's not nice and that's why I was angry when Wits did it and no one protected me and it was like sour grapes." He reiterated that showboating has its place, but not in top flight professional football.
"I know the fans love it. It's good for TV. I know people like it. It's good for township football. I grew up in a township. "I know when you have tricks [you are like a] top player. In townships, as long as you juggle and do tricks, everybody says you're a good player.
"There are a lot of players in the PSL who do tricks but they don't go anywhere and you know them. They don't even play for Bafana Bafana."