Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Kalil Ben Youssef launched a scathing attack on Orlando Pirates after their scuffle during the warm-up in the Soweto derby match at FNB Stadium on Sunday.
Pirates and Chiefs played to a 1-1 draw after Pule Mmodi and Kamogelo Sebelebele scored goals in the second half, and the match was without drama.
The derby saw controversy before the match when a violent physical altercation between officials saw Chiefs players forced to leave the pitch moments after coming out for the pre-match warm-up.
Ben Youssef was not pleased with what transpired and said this sends a bad image for SA football.
“I’m not from SA, but I know how many people watch the game, how many were waiting and how many ask where they can watch the match,” Ben Youssef said during the post-match press conference.
“I think what happened before the game is something we can’t accept. We are sending bad pictures of our football. People are waiting to see the football, but what we saw before the game we can’t accept.
“I think if you want to win the league, if you want to beat the teams, you have to win with football, not like that. It’s about safety. We spoke about safety, but people from outside are coming and fighting with our players in our warm-up, in our half.
“I think this kind of situation is a shame. If you want to win the league, you can’t do it like that. You need to do it cleanly and deserve to win it with football and people will say you deserve to win the league. You can’t win the league like that.”
Asked if the drama affected the players’ mindset, Ben Youssef said players were motivated to play.
“For this kind of game, you don’t have to motivate the players. If you are not motivated for the derby, what are you doing in football?” he said.
“We had to keep them calm and focused on the game. They already had motivation internally.
“Pre-match we did say that we had a clean bill of health, all the players were fit and ready to play to win, not to draw.”
The result saw Pirates drop points in the title race, while Anakhosi were satisfied as they consolidated their top three, even though Ben Youssef feels they should have won.