‘Even ball boys don’t respect players anymore’ – Manqoba Mngqithi

Golden Arrows coach Manqoba Mngqithi and his Polokwane City FC counterpart Phuti Mohafe have given their account of events after both benches clashed due to a ball boy incident on Wednesday.

Both benches had to be separated by match officials after an exchange of words following the incident at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.

This came after a ball boy threw the ball at an Arrows player, which incidentally hit him. Arrows were leading the Betway Premiership match 1-0 at the time, and the match ended with the same score line.

Explaining the incident, Mngqithi described the incident as unfortunate, saying referees seem to have their own rules.

MANQOBA MNGQITHI NOT IMPRESSED WITH WITH BALL BOY BEHAVIOUR

“The ball boy hit the player with a ball, and the referees could see. The fourth official was next to the situation, but nothing was done,” said Mngqithi.

“It’s just unfortunate when professional players are no longer respected, even by the ball boys. I think there are a lot of things that we take for granted in our football. But maybe we will improve.

“I also got a yellow card for telling the referee that it was a deliberate handball. It was clear, deliberate handball, and the referee didn’t want to sanction [the player]. It’s a questionable offence. But referees have their own rules. So what are we going to do?”

POLOKWANE CITY COACH PHUTI MOHAFE CALLS OUT MUSA BILANKULU

But his counterpart at Polokwane City gave a different version of events. Mohafe also called out Arrows assistant coach Musa Bilankulu for what he says is uncalled for behaviour.

“No, man. These guys just wanted to be brutal on the boy. So that is what I also reacted to because you can’t be a big man with a small mind,” said Mohafe.

“What that guy [Musa Bilankulu] did there is so uncalled for. The ball is out; the young boy is taking the ball to the thrower and leaves the ball to pass him. So what must he do? That has nothing to do with anything else but with the discipline of the player. I didn’t like how Bilankulu reacted. He played football in a professional setup for a long time. So the poor boy didn’t do anything wrong.”

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