Rulani Mokwena and TS Galaxy coach Sead Ramovic were the centre of attention during the chaotic scenes at the Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday evening.
The two sides played out to a dramatic 1-1 draw in a DStv Premiership match. Before the match, it was reported by SABC Sport that TS Galaxy decided to take Mokwena to the High Court for defamation. The exciting match played at the Mbombela Stadium saw both teams giving out everything. Galaxy opened the scoring through Puso Dithejane which prompted wild celebrations from Ramovic. A few minutes later, Peter Shalulile scored the equaliser for Downs to maintain their unbeaten league record.
After the match, Mokwena was approached by a TS Galaxy official but the Downs coach was having none of it. After the TV interviews, there was ongoing drama as the police had to intervene to prevent a physical altercation between the TS Galaxy and Sundowns players
“I am not involved in football for these types of matches. So I don’t want to speak too much about the match,” Mokwena said after the 1-1 draw with TS Galaxy.
“The first half is a clear penalty, [Siyabonga] Mabena’s incident in the second half is a clear penalty. There are so many fouls that go against us. Marcelo Allende gets stamped on his hand, and then he gets a yellow. They scored, and the whole bench just jumped into our faces and showed so much disrespect.”
Police intervene as Mokwena’s Sundowns and TS Galaxy clash
“So I don’t like that, and I am not involved in football for that. Sorry, I love football for friendships. I love football for memories, for the purity of the game and what it brings to people. So playing TS Galaxy at the moment is torture, something I don’t enjoy at the moment, no.”
When asked if he was worried about TS Galaxy taking him to court, Mokwena said he was more worried about Sundowns.
“No, I don’t want to talk about anything. They have taken me to court. So let’s meet in court,” he said.
“I don’t worry about TS Galaxy, I have to worry about Sundowns,” Mokwena added. I am employed by Sundowns. In this moment with the feelings that I have, I have to be very proud of my players because it was a difficult game to play.
“It was very tough, emotionally, physically and really they dug deep and showed incredible mentality. That’s the feeling I would like to leave Mbombela with. I would like to leave Mbombela with a feeling of pride, gratitude, and appreciation for the efforts and hard work of these special Mamelodi Sundowns group of players.”
Rulani Mokwena and TS Galaxy coach Sead Ramovic have been at each other’s throats since last year. Their public spat is heading to court soon and could get worse next season. The 37-year-old claimed there was a conspiracy to injure his midfielder Bongani Zungu when the two sides met in April.