SA Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie has called on Miguel Cardoso to stop talking down local football authorities after the Mamelodi Sundowns head coach launched another scathing attack on SA football.
Cardoso guided Sundowns to a CAF Champions League triumph after beating Moroccan side AS FAR Rabat 2-1 in a two-legged final. It was the first Champions League title for the Portuguese mentor after a third attempt. It’s also a second for Masandawana, who first won the biggest club football tournament on the continent in 2016.
In the weeks leading up to the final, Cardoso was highly critical of PSL leadership, arguing that they failed to provide Sundowns with suitable conditions to balance domestic and continental duties. Throughout the season, he has routinely voiced grievances over everything from pitches and stadiums to refereeing and match scheduling.
Cardoso has even critiqued the playing styles of opposing teams and levelled allegations that rival clubs were meeting with match officials ahead of games.
WHAT DID MIGUEL CARDOSO SAY ABOUT LOCAL FOOTBALL AUTHORITIES AFTER THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WIN
Speaking after being crowned African champions in Rabat on Sunday evening, Cardoso once again called those who are in charge of football in the country to ‘think about what they want’.
“I also believe it is important if South Africa wants to have one team again in the near future [to win the] Champions League, it has to change some dynamics, and it’s really important that those dynamics are changed to provide conditions,” he said.
“So, it’s time for people who are in charge of football in South Africa to really think about what they want towards the development of football in the country.”
GAYTON MCKENZIE TELLS MAMELODI SUNDOWNS COACH TO SHUT UP
But Cardoso’s remarks did not sit well with Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie, who quickly took to social media platform X [Twitter] to hit back. McKenzie stated that the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture will write a formal letter to Sundowns to address the coach’s recent utterances.
“We are happy for Mamelodi Sundowns, but we cannot continuously be told by this coach about how bad our league is run,” wrote McKenzie.
“We, like everyone else, have challenges, but we have the best-run league in Africa. ‘Stop talking down on South Africa. We will write to Mamelodi Sundowns complaining today’.
The minister added: “Listening to Cardosa, the coach of Masandawana, you will think everything is wrong with our league, he says these things without forwarding any proof. We are working very hard to bring in sponsors, and this type of nonsense spewed sets us back tremendously.”
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