MC Alger coach Rulani Mokwena has accused Mamelodi Sundowns mentor Miguel Cardoso of provoking him during their 2-0 defeat in the CAF Champions League group match at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday.
The defeat saw Mokwena’s Alger exit the Champions League from the group stages, while Sundowns secured a passage to the quarterfinals.
The match ended with tension on the touchline when Cardoso celebrated their second goal by moving towards the Alger technical area, sparking a heated exchange between the two teams.
“If Rulani has walked across to the opposition technical area, people would have made a hullabaloo about it because the laws of the game prohibits any technical team member to move across and past the fourth official to the technical area of the other team,” Mokwena explained during the post-match press conference.
“If that isn’t clear disrespect for the opposition and the opposing technical team staff, it is a clear violation of not only CAF rules but Fifa rules.
“Questions for that type of behaviour should be posed to the person that did it. He should answer to the provocation because it is provocation and he should say what the point of that was. Today you cannot say Rulani was involved in the handbags, it’s impossible.”
Mokwena also addressed his future with the club after their exit from the competition and said the focus now is to win the domestic league.
“I don’t know, I’m focused on what’s left of the remainder of the season and that’s a question that is not within my control now,” he said.
“We didn’t get knocked out today, if you review our participation, the turning point was away in Rwanda against Al-Hilal. We conceded first, fought back to 1-1 and then lost it 2-1 in the final 15 minutes. In this competition, securing a point away from home is vital.”
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