The South African Football Association (SAFA) have rebuked critics of Hugo Broos’ comments on Mbekezeli Mbokazi, denying that the Belgian head coach is racist or sexist.
Broos was reported by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) by the United Democratic Movement (UDM) — a minority party within the ruling national coalition government — as revealed on Thursday.
The UDM took issue with his Wednesday retort to the media that Mbokazi regarded his late arrival to the pre-Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) camp in Pretoria.
He “is a Black guy, but he will get out of my room as a white guy,” Broos said of Mbokazi.
They described this comment as “racially coded” and also cited comments on Mbokazi’s agent, Basia Michaels — which they described as “sexist.”
“A nice little woman who is his agent and thinks she knows football is doing what many agents are doing [and thinking]: ‘How much can I get?'” Broos said of Michaels’ work moving Mbokazi to Chicago Fire from Orlando Pirates.
Broos has often advised young players to exercise caution when choosing their first overseas moves and suggested Mbokazi could have secured a better one after the World Cup had he and Michaels waited.
In response to criticism of Broos’ comments, SAFA released a statement on Saturday on his behalf.
“It is unfortunate that my strong rebuke of the player’s conduct and subsequent comments were misinterpreted as racism and sexism,” Broos said.
“I distance myself from any accusation of racism and sexism.”
The association also criticised media coverage of the comments.
“SAFA maintains that Broos’s strongly worded comments, aimed purely at football matters, were misinterpreted and later amplified into unfounded character accusations,” they said.
“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.”
It added: “Remarks regarding the player’s agent were intended to underscore the importance of football 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 SAFA statement further claimed: “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.”
Bafana Bafana will face Ghana in a friendly at Soweto’s Dobsonville Stadium on Tuesday.
Subsequently, they will kick off their AFCON campaign in Marrakech on Dec. 22 against Angola before travelling to Agadir to face Egypt on Boxing Day.
Broos’ charges will conclude their group stage fixtures against Zimbabwe back in Marrakech on Dec. 29.
