Simba SC CEO Barbara Gonzalez confirms they will lodge an official complaint against Orlando Pirates co-coach Mandla Ncikazi over his post-match ‘mistreatment’ comments on Saturday after their CAF Confederation Cup clash in Tanzania.
Pirates lost 1-0 against Simba on Saturday and after the match in a strong-worded post-match press conference, Ncikazi spoke of their mistreatment and the volatile behaviour by the hosts for the whole time they spent in Tanzania. Including the poor refereeing decisions by Tunisian referee Haythem Guirat.
In an interview with KickOff.com, Simba CEO Gonzalez confirms the club will be lodging an official complaint to CAF concerning Ncikazi’s comments.
“If you want to play mind games I would like to ask him to keep my country out of his mouth and also my team,” Gonzalez tells KickOff.com.
“No such things happened and even if PSG would like to come, they will be treated with the same hospitality. But for someone to go as far as saying Simba was abusive or didn’t give them support and was hostile, was absolutely incorrect.
“We will take action against Orlando Pirates 🇿🇦 and not only through CAF but diplomatic efforts as well because the defamatory statements are not acceptable. This is not only for Simba SC but Tanzania 🇹🇿 as well.” - CEO of Simba SC.
— Micky Jnr (@deveerson45) April 18, 2022
Super woman, @bvrbvra 🔥#NguvuMoja pic.twitter.com/vPg8kOykGe
“All the support that was required was given and Simba has never been a bad host.
“We want to take this further. I want to use this as a teachable moment.
“There are people you can mess with and try to play some psychological games with and I understand there are some fears over job security on his side and the technical team at Orlando Pirates.
“But this is not the right way to save their jobs and this is not the right way to speak of each other.
“As CEO of Simba, I don’t accept it as a citizen of Tanzania and I don’t accept this and for this reason, I am going to file a strong complaint. So I would like to see Pirates and also the government address this because it puts us in a tricky predicament.
“It also creates a lot of fear heading to South Africa. We know that there is a high crime rate and we understand the challenges South Africans are facing at the moment so you start to question the kind of treatment that you may or may not receive.
“I am deeply concerned and worried,” Gonzalez concludes.
