Saleng, who won the players’ player of the season gong last term, said he was compelled to call his car’s manufacturer to come and ascertain what the problem was. The Pirates ace implied the incident could have taken his life, insisting it demoralised him before the game, hence he wasn’t in his element on match day.
Substitute Olisa Ndah's own goal settled the derby for Chiefs at FNB Stadium on February 25.
“I called the VW people and they discovered the pipe had been cut and it was intentional. When I asked around, no-one knew what had happened.
“It was one thing that disturbed me. This happened earlier on the day we were preparing for the camp.
“My mind was completely off because you ask yourself questions like, 'If that thing [the petrol pipe] had stayed [cut] even by a tiny bit and I drove it, what would have happened?'
“That incident changed everything and it disturbed me and my game. You could see I didn’t have the energy. I went there because it was told I must come and play.”
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Pirates star Saleng alleges damaged car put him off before derby defeat
Image: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
Orlando Pirates star Monnapule Saleng has alleged finding his car mysteriously damaged at the club’s Rand Stadium training base on the eve of facing bitter foes Kaizer Chiefs in a Soweto derby in February saw him underperform in a 1-0 defeat.
The Bafana Bafana winger was speaking in the second part of Pirates’ three-episode TV series Bucs Camp Season 1 that aired on SuperSport from Monday to Wednesday last week.
“I left the house for the gym early that morning and parked my car at the stadium. When I finished training my car wouldn’t start,” Saleng said.
“I asked myself what the problem could be because there are cameras at the premises. If the problem had started when I was at home, I wouldn’t have reached the stadium.
“I decided to leave the car there and went home after training. When I came back, I saw the petrol pipe had been cut. The petrol wasn’t leaking when I left it but when I came back you could see petrol leaking when I tried to start it.”
I didn’t care if they fired me: Pirates star Mosele opens up about off-field problems
Saleng, who won the players’ player of the season gong last term, said he was compelled to call his car’s manufacturer to come and ascertain what the problem was. The Pirates ace implied the incident could have taken his life, insisting it demoralised him before the game, hence he wasn’t in his element on match day.
Substitute Olisa Ndah's own goal settled the derby for Chiefs at FNB Stadium on February 25.
“I called the VW people and they discovered the pipe had been cut and it was intentional. When I asked around, no-one knew what had happened.
“It was one thing that disturbed me. This happened earlier on the day we were preparing for the camp.
“My mind was completely off because you ask yourself questions like, 'If that thing [the petrol pipe] had stayed [cut] even by a tiny bit and I drove it, what would have happened?'
“That incident changed everything and it disturbed me and my game. You could see I didn’t have the energy. I went there because it was told I must come and play.”
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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