Bafana coach Ntseki responds to ‘disrespectful’ Zungu’s comment
Zungu was left out of the Bafana squad and he took to social media to vent his 'anger'.
Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki. Pic: BackpagePix
Bafana Bafana head coach Molefi Ntseki has commented on Bongani Zungu’s reaction to his non-selection to the national team squad that was supposed to face Sao Tome & Principe in the 2021 Afcon qualifiers.
READ: Zungu opens up about Bafana snub, says he is hurting
Zungu was left out of the Bafana squad and he took to social media to vent his ‘anger’.
Responding to Zungu’s comments, Ntseki said there are other players who were not selected and may have felt the same way as Zungu, but unlike the Amiens player, they showed respect.
“What is important for me is to look after all the South African players and profile each one of them,” Ntseki is quoted as saying by Independent Media.
“We announced the squad after sitting for eight hours to come up with the 25 and 50 players we selected. If every player has to react like Bongani Zungu, we wouldn’t be giving a good picture of the relationships we have with our players and our clubs.”
“There are other players who felt they deserved selection but were not called up. They are probably feeling the same way but didn’t react the same way.
“They showed respect for themselves, their country and the national team as a whole.
“Those who are selected ahead of you, they celebrate the selection and look forward to representing their country.
“If you are not selected, it is a disappointment but this has to be handled in a very professional and respectful manner. I’m not going to talk much about what happened with Bongani Zungu,” added Ntseki.
“All I’m saying is that if you are not selected, there will be other channels that you can make use of in trying to air your disappointment.
“As for the rest of the guys who are disappointed, I respect them all. Their chance will come again and they will again be looked at,” commented the Bafana Bafana coach.
Ntseki added that there was no bad blood between him and Zungu and any other player who had not been included in his recent squad, the Bafana coach answered to the contrary.
“There’s no bad blood between me and any other player who is not selected for Bafana Bafana but who feel they deserve to be in the team,” he added.
“There’s no bad blood. Bongani has been selected for Bafana in our past three camps since I took over. I don’t want us to entertain the possibility of bad blood creeping in.”
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