IT WAS HELL IN THE DRC BUCS COACH
De Sa shocked at Caf s silence
FOR Orlando Pirates coach Roger de Sa, the scenes in the Democratic Republic of Congo when the Buccaneers played locals TP Mazembe in a Caf Champions League clash – were “worse than a movie.”
De Sa said he might have quit his job following the farcical scenes in Lubumbashi. “If someone offered me a job outside football after that, I would have taken it,” he said.
The Buccaneers suffered a 1-0 defeat to the four-time African champions, but won the tie 3-2 on aggregate to progress to the group stages.
This was despite a TV blackout engineered by the hosts, who barred the SABC crew from the stadium, a controversial red card and two “dubious” penalties that were saved by Senzo Meyiwa.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my entire career. The entire 100 minutes of football we played there was frightening, it was worse than a movie. It makes me wonder how Mazembe got those four stars on their crest, ” said De Sa.
“I’m bitter and shocked that Caf turn a blind eye to these things. But I still think it was the sweetest 1-0 defeat ever in my life.”
De Sa revealed that he protected his players from off-the-pitch incidents minutes before kick-off when two SABC employees were booted out of the stadium, had their cellphones confiscated and arrested. The coach said the match commissioner also denied him an opposition team sheet, as per regulations.
“Disgusting. That is how to probably best paint a picture for people who did not see the match on TV. But I thought it was important to try and help the players focus on the game instead of what was happening off it.
“It was blatant cheating and that is why they made sure it