Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has called Mbekezeli Mbokazi unprofessional after the defender arrived a day late for training.
According to the Belgian coach, the 20-year-old was supposed to join camp in Pretoria on Monday but missed his flight.
Mbokazi played his final match for the Buccaneers on Saturday and led them to victory in the final of the Carling Knockout Cup.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, an angry Broos lashed on Mbokazi’s ‘unprofessional attitude’.
“He just arrived or he will arrive in 15 minutes. I didn’t want to speak about it, but okay, you asked the question and you have the right to know that I’m not pleased with what he did,” he said as per SABC Sport.
“He let us know that he missed his flight yesterday in Durban. It was the coach of Pirates who informed me and he was very angry that he missed his flight. It’s an unprofessional attitude and I think I’ve spoken to you about the unprofessional attitude of South African players. Again, an example of it.”
Broos not happy with Pirates defending Mbokazi
The Bafana coach also criticised Pirates for trying to explain why the young defender missed his flight.
“And then Pirates sent me a message with nonsense, really nonsensical and why he missed his plane. I will not tell you what the nonsense is. The worst thing is that the club protects the player for his unprofessional attitude,” Broos said.
Bafana have assembled at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations. With most players already in camp, the team will have at least two weeks to prepare for the tournament.
Mbokazi, who will join Chicago Fire after AFCON, has already upset Broos, which could affect his place in the starting eleven.
