Sundowns' Bafana stars slapped with heavy fines after alleged drinking incident
Mamelodi Sundowns have hit three of their Bafana Bafana stars with heavy fines after they were found to have been allegedly under the influence of alcohol during the club's Caf Champions League trip from Equatorial Guinea recently.
Insiders identified the trio as Tebogo Langerman‚ Motjeka Madisha and Phakamani Mahlambi.
Sundowns spokesperson Thulani Thuswa declined to confirm nor deny the allegation and said he could not comment on the premiership champions' internal disciplinary processes.
“Just like at other clubs‚ internal processes are kept internal‚” Thuswa said.
Attempts to get further comment from Sundowns acting general manager Yogesh Singh drew a blank as he did not answer repeated calls to his mobile phone and also did not respond to text messages sent to him.
The three players could not be reached on Thursday morning as they had already departed for Egypt where Sundowns are scheduled to take on Libyan side Ahli Benghazi in a first round clash of the Champions League on Sunday.
TimesLIVE has reliably established that the three appeared before a disciplinary committee (DC) where they were hit with monetary fines for transgressing club rules.
The insider said they stood before their teammates and apologised for their actions.
The three players are said to have consumed alcohol on the team’s trip back to South Africa following Sundowns’ 2-0 win over Leones Vegatarianos in the Caf Champions League at the Estadio de Ebebiyín in Equatorial Guinea last month.
They were heavily criticised by their teammates for their unprofessional conduct and coach Pitso Mosimane is believed to have been livid.
The Sundowns coach is a strict disciplinarian and doesn’t tolerate players who disregard club rules.
As part of their punishment for the transgression‚ the three players were dropped from the squad for the immediate game after their misconduct and played no part in Sundowns' 2-1 league win against Tshwane rivals SuperSport United.
They also missed the 5-1 second leg victory against Vegatarianos at Loftus.
But Mosimane played Mahlambi as a second-half substitute in the 0-0 league draw against Baroka FC at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Tuesday night as he is reintegrating them back into the team after their apologies.