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.
