Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has called on the supporters of the club and the public in general to show him respect as pressure continues to mount.
Cardoso has been under scrutiny in the last few weeks following Sundowns’ unconvincing run across all competitions.
On Wednesday, they sneaked past Motsepe Foundation Championship side Gomora United 2-1 in the Nedbank Cup last 32 at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
After the Nedbank Cup press conference at PSL headquarters on Monday, someone took a video of Cardoso driving out from the offices and captioned it “the coach can’t even park properly”. That left the Portuguese international feeling he was disrespected by that joke.
“I don’t think it is proper to joke with the car of the coach or the way the coach got out of the press conference — that is what is missing,” Cardoso told the media during the post-match press conference.
No one [needs] to push anyone. We just want to work. Just take it calmly and let us work
— Miguel Cardoso, Mamelodi Sundowns coach
“You look at the coach and have no respect. This guy [referring to himself] coaches teams that no one ever imagined [he would coach] in SA, but just show some respect. One day I will go. No one [needs] to push anyone. We just want to work. Just take it calmly and let us work.
“These players deserve a lot of respect. This club deserves a lot of respect. It is a huge club. It is so strong, and [we have] a lot of respect from people inside because we have fantastic people inside the club and we are together.
“It turns around very quickly; the strong ones turn around.”
The former Celta Vigo and Nantes coach also made shock allegations that some club officials meet referees on match days in the PSL.
“We must start to have VAR [video assistant referees] on the matches and things will go better because there will be no suspicion from anyone — because here in SA it is very interesting that the officials from some teams visit referees in the morning of the matches,” he said.
“I saw a photo today [Wednesday]. It is important we look at this. It is the first time I see the official of a team visiting a referee in the night. That happened recently — and that’s what you need to worry about in terms of football.”
Sowetan
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