But instead of celebrating the win, things took a turn when fans mocked the former Downs’ coach Pitso Mosimane and his mother, who attended the game to support his son at Atteridgeville on Saturday.
Ahlyhealthy 2-0 win in the first leg in Cairo, meant trouble for Downs. This past weekend both sides played to a 1-1, thus the visitors won by a 3-1on aggregate.
Off the field, fans had other thoughts as they hurled insults and imprintable words to Mosimane and Mom that prompted his agency to issue a media release today.
“There are sections of Mamelodi Sundowns FC that have never accepted or made peace with Pitso Mosimane being part of the Mamelodi Sundowns family.
This is regardless of all the successes he contributed to the club as the head coach of the club from December 2012 to September 2020 (7 years, 9 months) and 11 titles later.
MT Sports Marketing and Management would like to state that the incident on Saturday, the 22nd May 2021, although deeply disturbing, is not an isolated one. For years, including the time that coach Pitso Mosimane was head coach at Mamelodi Sundowns, there were many known examples of disruption and efforts to usurp his position within the club,” read a detailed media release from MT Sports Marketing and Management.
It continued:” The events of Saturday, 22nd May 2021 where sections of the club’s supporters hurled abuse at Coach Pitso and his mother, are confirmation of the grudge that some in the club continue to hold against him even after leaving the club.
We trust and believe that this matter and the necessary truths that need to be revealed will finally, come to the fore in due course.
As MT Sports Marketing and Management, our stance is that we will not allow for such callous bullying of our client.”
“To this effect, as the management company of Coach Pitso, we are disappointed that Mamelodi Sundowns FC has not apologised to him personally but issued a general statement apologising to Al Ahly “and those associated with the team”.
This is not good enough. The insults were directed at Coach Pitso in his personal capacity and to his mother.
We hope that the entire Sundowns family will continue to look at the success of Coach Pitso as something to celebrate, not vilify,” said the statement.
Moira Tlhagale, Managing Director, MT Sports Marketing and Management along with their client, coach Pitso Mosimane will not be taking interviews or making any further comments at this time.
Tlhagale is a wife to Mosimane.
What irked many is Downs only issued an apology to Al Ahly but not Mosimane. What a bitter-sweet pill to swallow for fans who shamed SA globally.
SAFA and other football stakeholders have lamented the behavior and suggested actions must be taken against Downs’ and its fans.
Image (Winning pair. Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane who was mocked by Downs’ fans and wife Moira Tlhagale).
