Rulani Responds to Al Ahly’s Referee Complaints

On Wednesday, Mamelodi Sundowns will take on Al Ahly in Cairo for the second leg of the African Football League semi-finals. The South African side currently lead 1-0 on aggregate, following their victory in the first leg. However, the Egyptian champions have been vocal in their dissatisfaction with the refereeing decisions in that game.

In response, Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena has hit back at Al Ahly and their complaints. Mokwena expressed his surprise at the amount of complaining the African champions do, and suggested that they are losing their status as a big club when they look for other factors apart from football.

“I’m surprised that Al Ahly complained about everything,” Mokwena said in the press conference. “Before the first leg, Al Ahly complained about the kick-off time, yet they are allowed to have the game at the time that suits them, but you hear no complaints from Mamelodi Sundowns. They only complain about referees when they lose. Jose Mourinho once said that when a big club starts to look for other factors apart from football, they start losing their status as a big club.”

Mokwena went on to say that Al Ahly are the “flagship of African football”, and that the rest of the world and Europe look at them as a reflection of what African football represents. He added that he hopes this is not the case with Al Ahly, and that they will not lose their status as a big club.