Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has come out strong to condemn a section of the club’s fans who booed one of their own players during their league clash against Sekhukhune United.
The fan booing incident nearly overshadowed Sundowns’ historic 2-1 victory over Sekhukhune in Tuesday night’s DStv Premiership clash at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
The win marked a significant milestone for Sundowns, but the negative fan behaviour has become a major talking point.
Tashreeq Matthews and Thapelo Morena were on target to ensure Sundowns extended their unbeaten run in the league to 22 games with 17 wins and five draws.
With the win, The Brazilians became the first PSL team to go unbeaten in the first 22 games of a league campaign. And Sundowns, at the summit of the log standings with a healthy 13-point lead, are now two victories away from defending their league title.
Despite Sundowns’ win against Sekhukhune, defender Brian Onyango’s performance was under scrutiny as he couldn’t keep up with the pressure of the game and made a few mistakes in the process.
Onyango’s visible struggles on the pitch drew boos from a section of the home crowd. This negativity did not sit well with coach Mokwena, who swiftly intervened to defend his player.
RULANI MOKWENA ON MAMELODI SUNDOWNS FANS BOOING BRIAN ONYANGO
In a post-match interview, Mokwena condemned the club’s fans’ behaviour, citing the fact that we all make mistakes in our own professions.
“We can never ever condone such behaviour. It’s completely unacceptable. These guys are giving and football is a game of mistakes,” said Mokwenaa.
“And some of them who are booing Brian Onyango for a mistake, if you were to follow them in their own professions and say, ‘I just want to shadow you for a day’. Let me see if you are going to do your work without a mistake. Believe me, you will pick up so many mistakes even in their personal lives.
“So, as human beings, why are we berated when we make mistakes? I make more mistakes than Brian Onyango. I’m so mistake-prone, and it’s not even funny. He knows that I love him and support him, and he knows he got my back 100% because I know he’s also protecting me all the time.”
‘THAT’S THE START OF THE DEMISE OF MAJOR FOOTBALL CLUBS’
Mokwena continued: “That’s the only thing I can say. For me, Sundowns fans know what they must do. I have said this before and I’m going to repeat it, empires don’t collapse, they dilapidate bit by bit. We start taking small things for granted, we start taking the efforts of the players for granted, we start taking wins for granted, and we start taking results for granted because we think we think we are entitled to win.
“That’s the start of the demise of major football clubs. And then all of a sudden, you look at yourself and say, how did we get here? But it started with small behaviour that you didn’t even uproot, and that’s important. These players deserve so much more encouragement and belief.
“Of course, they are going to make mistakes. But that’s what corrections are for. That’s why you employ a coach to say let’s sit and do corrections. And you think I enjoy sitting with the players and saying you made this mistake; it’s not easy. Do you think they enjoy having to see their mistakes in front of their teammates? It’s not easy, so nobody goes out to the pitch and deliberately makes a mistake; nobody does.”
‘THEY ARE THERE TO SUPPORT’
The former Orlando Pirates coach Mokwena went on to state that supporters are there to support, not to kill the players’ morale.
“So, when they [players] make mistakes, the first thing is that I make mistakes too; you start there because if you don’t start there, then you will lack empathy. But if you start there and say I make a lot of mistakes in my life, then the starting point is empathy,” he added.
“As soon as there’s empathy then there will be support and encouragement because you know how it feels to make a mistake and to be condemned.
“Therefore, you then start by saying I don’t want this person to feel like that because your heart is good, and then you support and galvanise, and that’s the job of supporters. That’s why they are called supporters. They are there to support you, and support means in good and bad times, I have got you.”
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