Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos addresses the media at the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre following his apology over remarks about defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi. Photo: Backpagepix Hugo Broos may have been reading from a prepared statement, but Bafana Bafana’s Belgian head coach sounded sincere as he apologised for remarks he made last week while venting his frustration over Mbekezeli Mbokazi’s late arrival at camp. Sitting in the same chair he occupied a week earlier, the septuagenarian — resplendent in black, round-rimmed reading glasses — took his time opening his laptop, creating an air of anticipation in the compact auditorium at the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre that could almost be cut with a knife.
The SAFA media officer laid down the ground rules, stating that no questions would be allowed once the coach had addressed the matter that had placed the nation in an uproar, to the extent that political parties had reported Broos to the Human Rights Commission. Broos’ statement that, “Mbokazi is a black guy but when he comes out of my room he will be a white guy,” was widely viewed as racist, while his reference to the defender’s agents as “a nice little woman who thinks she knows football” was deemed sexist in many quarters. The coach, who has been credited with turning Bafana’s fortunes around, appeared visibly taken aback by the backlash and duly apologised.
“I agree that my choice of words was not the right one and I want to apologise for that. I never wanted to make a racist or sexist comment. I am neither a racist nor a sexist,” Broos said.
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He explained that his comments stemmed from concern for a player with a promising future whom he feared could be heading down the wrong path. “When Mbokazi arrived a little too late at the Bafana camp for the AFCON preparations, I was incredibly angry — even more so when some people sent me a strange story to justify his lateness. I let my fatherly side get the better of me because I saw things could go wrong. “It would be terrible if Mbokazi did not pursue the career he is destined for due to a lack of proper guidance, which he needs as an inexperienced player.” Broos added that his long career working across the African continent should speak for itself.
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