Former Kaizer Chiefs winger Junior Khanye believes that Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos, should have waited to address Mbekezeli Mbokazi’s disciplinary matter, as it could affect the player negatively at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Mbokazi arrived late in the team’s camp last week for reasons Broos didn’t want to disclose to the media however reacted to strongly saying it’s unprofessional. There has since been an outpour of mixed reactions from fans, some political organisations and pundits about how the coach handled the matter.
Khanye says he doesn’t promote what the 20-year-old did because it’s denting his image. However, Khanye adds Mbokazi is one of the key players for South Africa at the upcoming AFCON in Morocco and the coach could have waited to deal with the issue after the tournament.
“You cannot, for instance, if your child is writing matric exams and doesn’t sleep at home and say ‘dad, we were studying with classmates’ and you punish him at that time,” said Khanye on iDiski TV.
“You wait for the child to write and finish with exams and then you check his results then you deal with him.
“I’m not promoting what the player did because those are the kinds of things that make me angry and we are always discussing these on podcasts, the likes of Mbokazi do not learn. Players don’t know these situations dent their image.
“But the boy played a major role in the qualifiers and [Orlando] Pirates winning these two trophies. Coach shouldn’t have dealt with matter now; it will disturb him psychologically at a very major tournament. You can’t.
“This is an international tournament a very high level from the domestic ones. Players who go there have a strong character and they want to help their teams get out of their groups at the very least.
“So, coach should have left the matter. I’m sure the boy gets the point now and he plays in a sensitive position. So, leave the boy you need him and address him after the tournament.”
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