Polokwane - Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba has landed himself in hot water with his employers after a top South African Football Association (Safa) official confirmed that his suspension – pending a disciplinary hearing – was due to a show of disrespect to Danny Jordaan and several top delegates in Polokwane on Saturday.
Jordaan, the Safa president, was at the Peter Mokaba Stadium to watch Bafana beat Senegal 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier and made his way to the dressing room to address the players not long after the final whistle but was apparently an unwelcome guest as far as Mashaba was concerned. The coach told the press in his post-match comments that he knew he was a marked man ahead of the 2018 World Cup qualifier and is believed to have told Jordaan as much.
Safa confirmed in a statement late on Sunday that Mashaba will not be travelling with the team to Mozambique for Tuesday night’s international friendly following a “regrettable” incident at the Peter Mokaba Stadium.
“His (Mashaba's) poor relationship with the media is affecting everything he does now,” said a top Safa official on Sunday night. “It is almost like the president had to beg him to join the party in the dressing room after the game. He was disrespectful towards a number of Safa officials who wanted to congratulate him for the win and these included Mr Patrice Motsepe (Mamelodi Sundowns owner and billionaire) as well.”
Mashaba kept local and foreign journalists waiting for over 45 minutes at the stadium auditorium and also refused to speak to broadcasters SuperSport after the match, only granting an interview to the SABC. This has added to a long list of misdemeanours and the coach will appear before a disciplinary committee in the coming weeks.
Asked if he could be sacked as a result of what transpired in Polokwane, the insider said it was likely given that the Safa hierarchy has always been split on whether to fire him before Bafana began their World Cup qualifiers early last month, but reluctantly kept him in the hot seat.
“This plays into Safa’s hands because he was given a chance to stay on even though a lot of people felt the failure to qualifier for the Africa Cup of Nations next year was enough to replace him with a new coach,” the official who did not want to be named explained. “Let’s wait and see what happens in the coming days or weeks, but this could be the end because the sponsors are also not happy after his behaviour yesterday in Polokwane.”
mazola.molefe@inl.co.za
@superjourno
Independent Media