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On behalf of Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club and the players, Rulani Mokwena apologised for what happened yesterday.
— Tiisetso Malepa (@TiisetsoMalepa) April 25, 2024
"It was a big mishap. It will never happen again,"he says.#CityPress #CAFCL pic.twitter.com/4VvHFVAR6t
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena on Thursday apologised to the media after his players failed to attend a scheduled CAF Champions League press conference the day before.
The media invitation said there would be three unnamed Sundowns players to engage with journalists. The interviews were scheduled to start at 10.30am, but no players pitched and journalists were kept waiting at the club’s training base in Chloorkop, a stone’s throw away from Thembisa.
READ: How Sundowns can clinch their place in the Fifa Club World Cup
After more than 90 minutes of waiting and with no explanation from the club, the journalists packed up and left.
Speaking at a press conference at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium ahead of their second leg Champions League semifinal against Esperance of Tunisia, Mokwena said there was a breakdown of communication within the club.
Flanked by goalkeeper and captain Ronwen Williams, Mokwena said:
Mokwena blamed the "mishap" on the absence of their media manager Shupi Nkgadima, who was on leave. He said Nkgadima’s absence made the club realise just how important he was to handle the media.
Mokwena added: “The good side is we recognise how important Shupi is because yesterday he was not with us and it was the first time that we had something like this [happen]."
#Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena doing his #CAFCL prematch presser.
— Tiisetso Malepa (@TiisetsoMalepa) April 25, 2024
He started by apologising for yesterday's media snub by his players, who kept us waiting for more than 90 minutes at their Chloorkop training base and headquarters, a stone's throw from Thembisa.@City_Press pic.twitter.com/lPMoWupIWY
“Sometimes you only value someone when he is absent. I am 100% sure that this will not happen again. Shupi will make sure that it does not happen again because he will be here every single day from now on.”
After they lost 1-0 in the first leg in Rades on Saturday, the league champions need a 2-0 win over the Tunisian giants to book their spot in the final. A 1-0 win will take the tie into extra time while a draw will eliminate Sundowns, who were beaten in the semifinals in 2019 and last year.
