South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has made it clear that he did not intend to be racist toward one of his players, Mbekezeli Mbokazi.
The Belgian tactician was unhappy with Mbokazi’s conduct after the 20-year-old defender arrived late at the Bafana Bafana camp, having missed his flight from Durban to Johannesburg. where the team is preparing for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
When lambasting the new Chicago Fire player during a press conference, Broos said, “I can assure you, he’s a black guy, but he will get out of my room as a white guy.”
The remark sparked racism accusations (with a complaint to the SA Human Rights Commission), which Broos and the South African Football Association (SAFA) have denied, calling it misinterpreted and non-racist.
The former Cameroon head coach had also referred to Mbokazi’s agent, Basia Michaels, as a “nice little woman who is his agent” while slamming the youngster’s recent transfer to Chicago Fire from Orlando Pirates.
“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,” Broos said in a statement issued by SAFA following accusations of racism.
Broos and Bafana continue their preparations for AFCON, with the team set to take on Ghana’s home-based national team on Tuesday in a friendly match at the Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto.
South Africa will battle it out with Angola (December 22), Egypt (December 26) and Zimbabwe (December 29) in AFCON Group B matches in Morocco.
