“We Have To Protect Our Heroes”: Cardoso Fumes On Injured Mokoena
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has called for greater protection for midfielder Teboho Mokoena after the Bafana Bafana star suffered an injury during their 3-2 victory over Polokwane City in the MTN8 quarter-finals on Saturday.
Mokoena was subsequently ruled out of Sundowns’ 3-2 Betway Premiership victory over TS Galaxy at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday.
The midfielder has been one of the key players for both Sundowns and Bafana Bafana, having represented South Africa at the recently concluded FIFA World Cup.
Cardoso believes players of Mokoena’s calibre need greater protection, particularly when they return from representing the national team.
“I think it’s also important, besides the players that I mentioned, Teboho Mokoena, who was absent from today’s match,” said Cardoso.
“I think it’s important that South Africa understands that we have to protect our players. You cannot come from the World Cup and be made a national hero, and then, when he is playing his first match on South African soil, we allow such aggressive action against him without it even being penalised.
“It was not even a yellow card for that action. There are many incidents from the last match that I could refer to, but what I mean is that we have to protect our players.”
However, it remains unclear when Mokoena will return to action for Sundowns. He scored a penalty when Bafana Bafana drew against Czechia in a pressure-cooker match during the FIFA World Cup Group A stage.
“We, as Sundowns, I think we play fair. We play fair. And sometimes playing fair is not enough because, in the last game, if you look properly at half-time, two players from the opponent should have been shown red cards, and the match wouldn’t have gone into extra time,” added Cardoso.
