The South African Football Association (SAFA) has defended under-fire Bafana coach Hugo Broos following accusations of racism and sexism.
Broos was accused of racism and sexism after he came down hard on Bafana defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi and his agent Basia Michaels earlier this week.
And the Bantu Holomisa-led United Democratic Movement (UDM) has since taken the Belgian to the South African Human Rights Commission.
“SAFA maintains that Broos’ strongly worded comments, aimed purely at football matters, were misinterpreted and later amplified into unfounded character accusations,” a SAFA statement said on Saturday afternoon.
Am unrepentant Broos said: “It is unfortunate that my strong rebuke of the player’s conduct and subsequent comments were misinterpreted as racism and sexism. I distance myself from any accusation of racism and sexism.”
SAFA added: “It is mind-boggling that the coach would be described in such a manner towards a player he has consistently supported since selecting him for the first time a few months ago.”
SAFA said that Broos’ remarks regarding the player’s agent were intended to underscore the importance of agents prioritising players’ welfare and long-term development over short-term financial gain.
“SAFA noted that a language barrier contributed to the coach’s frustrations not being fully or clearly conveyed during the interview, leading to misunderstandings about his intent. The organisation emphasised that there was no discriminatory motive behind the coach’s remarks,” the SAFA statement further said.
SAFA stressed that in Broos’ four years at the helm, neither players nor staff have raised any issues related to racism, sexism or discrimination of any kind.
“SAFA, the players and the staff are all fully behind coach Broos and we are now completely focused on our participation in the AFCON in a few days’ time,” the statement concluded.
