Pandemonium as TS Galaxy, Mamelodi Sundowns tensions boil over

By Velile Mnyandu
22nd May 2024

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena says he doesn’t enjoy playing TS Galaxy at the moment as he feels there’s a lot of torture surrounding this fixture.

Mokwena was commenting after the ugly scenes that unfolded at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday evening, when the two teams played to a 1-1 draw.

There was an exchange of words between the two camps, and this spilled over to the post-match television interviews and lots of shoving after the game – even prompting police intervention, which left Mokwena with a bad taste in the mouth.

"There's not much to say about the game. I'm not involved in football for these types of matches, so I don't want to speak too much about the match," said Mokwena.

"There were incidents – I mean Tash's [Matthews] incident in the first half was a clear penalty; [Siyabonga] Mabena's incident in the second half is a clear penalty; there were so many fouls going against us – Marcello Allende gets stamped on and gets a yellow.

"Then they score and their whole bench just jumps into our faces, and shows so much disrespect, so I don't like that. I'm not involved in football for that, I'm sorry.

"I love football for friendship, I love football for good memories, I love football for the purity of the game and the joy that it brings to people, so playing TS Galaxy at the moment is torture – it's something I don't enjoy at the moment."

Adding to the tension prior to this game, as reported by SABC Sport, Galaxy had taken legal action against Mokwena, filing a claim of damages following Mokwena's comments after Sundowns' 3-0 win at Loftus Versfeld last month.

READ: TS Galaxy formally approach High Court over Rulani Mokwena matter

However, Mokwena refused address this issue last night.

"I don't want to talk about anything. They've taken it to court, so let's meet in court. I don't worry about TS Galaxy, I have to worry about Sundowns [because], I'm employed by Sundowns," he said.

"I have to, even in this moment with the feelings I have, be very proud of my players because it was a difficult game for them to play, it was very, very tough emotionally, physically, and they really dug deep and showed incredible mentality."