Hugo Broos Must Be Held Accountable For Offensive Comments
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos.
Image: AFP
The beauty of South African football is that it transcends sport in many ways those outside the country’s borders will truly never know.
The Springboks have long been mythologized for their nation building and underlined by an unparalleled success on the field, but let’s face it they play in a much smaller pond, than Bafana who are in an ocean of football competition that will swallow you whole.
It’s well known that Nelson Mandela loved Bafana, and he famously once described our iconic captain Lucas Radebe as his hero.
When South Africa became a democracy in 1994, it wasn’t long after that Bafana won the AFCON in 1996 and qualified for the 1998 World Cup at their first attempt.
Our sport thrived despite the country’s economic woes and the realities of crime and racial tension.
Human rights were a key pillar of our new country, enshrined in our constitution and it was something praised around the world.
We were a place where freedom of speech and expression was encouraged, but never at the cost of infringing on other people’s rights.
And that is the crossroads South African football finds itself in, after Hugo Broos’s bizarre rant at a pre-AFCON press conference.
Ahead of the tournament, Broos, who was clearly irritated, was critical over the US based Mbekezeli Mbokazi, who was late for Bafana camp.
In words that only could make sense to him, the Belgian said: “I can assure you: he (Mbokazi) is a black guy, but he will get out of my room as a white guy.”
What!?
The 73-year-old did not stop there with his racially charged language and then took aim at Mbokazi’s agent Basia Michaels, making the following misogynistic comments: “I know what happened, a woman who is his agent and thinks she knows football is doing what many agents are doing and thinking about how much they can get. If she is a little bit clever, she knows there is Afcon and next year it’s the World Cup. That there will be other teams, better for his career, to go to and not to Chicago.”
I’m sorry, but if Broos was coaching England or the US, he’d probably be toast. He would be on the first flight back home to Belgium heading into retirement. That kind of behaviour would just not be tolerated by England’s Football Association or the US Soccer Federation.
SAFA have defended their coach saying: “His remarks, made during a recent press conference ahead of the team’s preparations for the Afcon, were subsequently misconstrued. Safa maintains that Broos’ strongly worded comments, aimed purely at football matters, were misinterpreted and later amplified into unfounded character accusations.”
The United Democratic Movement however has reported Broos to the South African Human Rights Commission.
“These remarks, if confirmed, constitute racially suggestive and sexist utterances that demean the dignity of the individuals concerned and undermine the constitutional values that govern all public institutions, including national sports structures,” the political party said in a statement.
The watchdog is yet to rule and a decision from them would place a moral and institutional obligation on SAFA to act.
Defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi.
Image: AFP
Broos has subsequently apologised citing a poor choice of words, and saying he “never wanted to make a racist or sexist comment, I’m neither a racist or sexist”.
But he still doubled down that the people advising Mbokazi, didn’t have his best interests at heart, something he reiterated after the defender put in an outstanding performance against Egypt when he marked Mo Salah.
Now we can have a conversation about the merits of playing in Major League Soccer (MLS), but what we should not entertain is somebody using that reason to deflect from offensive language that needs to be dealt with.
Given our constitution and history, it’s inconceivable that Broos gets away unscathed. If this were a major football nation he’d be sacked or be considering standing down. Or if the federation were keen to keep him in their employ they would be coming up with a strategy where his public apology would be accompanied by a fine, possibly a sanction to miss some games, and getting their coach to undergo some form of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training.
Look SAFA is a federation lacking any real form of accountability. Beleaguered president Danny Jordaan continues on even though he faces serious fraud and theft charges, and team manager Vincent Tseka has never been punished for being at the heart of Bafana’s points deduction against Lesotho that almost cost the team World Cup qualification. The organisation is a shambles, but that doesn’t mean this latest faux pas from Broos should go unpunished.
SAFA President Danny Jordaan
Image: Independent Newspapers
We should not excuse this as a football coach who has expressed himself badly. Broos is a grown man, has the wisdom that comes with age, and while it’s true the older you get, the more unfiltered you become, that does not come at the expense of using racially coded language and sexist framing of people.
Bafana are the team that the majority of South Africans identify and connect with. They have a special place in our hearts. And despite Broos having the longest and one of the most successful runs as coach, it doesn’t make him untouchable.
This team embodies the spirit of Mandela more than any other, and for that to remain, Broos needs to be held accountable and appropriately dealt with, not left to continue as business as usual.
* Zayn Nabbi is the Director of Trinity Media, an award-winning content creation agency based in London, with a focus on newsgathering and storytelling in the Global South. His column, The Other Side, offers readers fresh perspectives on important and topical stories by inviting them to step through his door and view each issue through a different prism.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of IOL or Independent Media.