In the latest flare-up of what has become a minefield of Bafana Bafana confrontations on the eve of the African Nations Cup, deposed captain and Blackburn United defender Aaron Mokoena on Thursday ”walked out” of the forthcoming tournament in Egypt.
The shock withdrawal of the player who has led Bafana for the past two years followed in the wake of his replacement by Sibusiso Zuma as captain 24 hours earlier — and brought to a flashpoint the uneasy relationship that has existed between Mokoena and Ted Dumitru since the caretaker coach took over a month ago.
Dumitru said the decision to elect a new captain was taken by means of a secret ballot among the players, but the Bafana coach has openly suggested the captaincy issue needed to be reviewed and that Zuma would be an ideal leader.
Mokoena was the last player to arrive at the Bafana training camp in Johannesburg this week, but he turned up well within the time limit set by Fifa for players competing in the Nations Cup — and he was openly incensed by his relegation as captain.
Mokoena asked for permission on Wednesday to leave the training camp to visit his family, as he had not seen them for some time while playing in England — and failed to return, with the rest of the Bafana squad leaving for Durban to play a practice game against a Premier Soccer League (PSL) XI on Friday night..
The Kick-Off magazine website said Mokoena would issue a statement announcing his retirement from international soccer in view of the treatment meted out to him by Dumitru.
The Bafana coach, however, said Mokoena had been withdrawn from the squad as a result of his indiscipline.
Dumitru said he would recommend to the South African Football Association that further disciplinary measures be taken against Mokoena — as well as against Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Emile Baron, another prominent Bafana squad member who withdrew from the African Nations Cup at the 11th hour and announced his retirement from international soccer.
Adding to the aura of uneasiness before Bafana leave for Egypt next week has been the non-appearance of several players from Dumitru’s initial squad of 35 players in the PSL XI line-up — as requested by South Africa’s coach.
Dumitru said he will be ”eyeing” the players of both squads in Friday night’s practice game — ”and there could be one or two surprises when the finalised squad is announced” — Sapa