Cape Town Spurs head coach, Nasief Morris, says the decision to go ahead with their ABC Motsepe League derby against neighbours Vasco da Gama, was not that of the Spurs hierarchy, but rather of the coaching staff.
“It’s not them, I decided not to change the game to another day,” Morris confirmed to No Bones with Jones.
Needless to say, this decision did not go well with his rival coach Andrew Pequeno and the broader football public who questioned Morris’ belief and morals as indicated on social media.
Pequeno will also be without a number of his players of Muslim faith as they are observing the holy day of Eid Ul-Fitr for this fixture scheduled for their Ikamva homeground at 14:00.
It’s believed that Vasco gave their players off out of respect for their faith and families.
Our website also reached out to Pequeno who was rather cagey to give his view on the matter. “Aren’t we also celebrating Human Rights Day today as well?” was Pequeno’s only reaction.
Many feel that the win at cost factor is the driving force which has clouded the judgement of the Spurs coach who obviously has only one thing on his mind – three points.
The team from Ikamva currently occupies the fourth position with 24 points from 13 matches – three points off the pacesetters Hanover Park FC (27 points) with the latter having played a game more than Spurs.
This means that maximum points in this derby against their rival opposite the road, could propel Spurs in the top position in Stream A which is probably why the former Bafana Bafana defender is eager to have the match played.
This also indicates Spurs’ desperation to emerge as Stream (A) winners with about half of the season remaining.
One cannot help but feel that Safa Western Cape, the custodians of the Second Division, is also to be blamed as they could have allowed sanity to prevail and reschedule the fixture for the Sunday which would definitely not have left a bitter taste in the mouth of Vasco and the broader football public.
Many are also questioning Safa WC’s decision and wonder why they did not pull rank asking if they would have allowed a football match to be played on Christmas Day, so why Eid?
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2 Responses
Sports coaches are not really renowned for their astuteness. Who wants to play against a depleted time, who respect their religious views, totally❓It’s a sad day for soccer when individuals allow such perceptions which show a total disregard for ethics and morals. Is this win-at-all-cost approach really worth it, as the wider community must be disgusted at such a stance❓
As a supporter of CT SPURS, Very Dissapointing, show of unsportmanship from SPURS coaching staff, especially in view of it being Eid & Human Rights Day.
There’s always tmrw to play a fair game for a fair outcome ⚽🤔