Bongani Zungu’s reaction to Bafana snub criticised by coach

Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki says he is disappointed with the way midfielder Bongani Zungu reacted to being left out of the squad that would have taken to the field this past weekend.

Before the spread of the coronavirus to the continent, South Africa was set to take on Sao Tome e Principe in back-to-back Afcon qualifier, the first of which would have taken place at FNB Stadium on Friday, 27 March.

Ntseki disappointed in Zungu’s reaction

However, the qualifiers have since been suspended by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

In his squad for the fixtures, Ntseki excluded Zungu, and the Amiens star player took to social media to express disappointment in being left out.

Me2

— Bongani Zungu (@BonganiZungu08) March 12, 2020

Speaking to IOL, the Bafana mentor feels that the player could have handled the situation differently.

“What is important for me is to look after all the South African players and profile each one of them,” Ntseki said.

“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.”

Molefi Ntseki

No bad blood

The former Bloemfontein Celtic assistant coach added that he felt players should handle disappointment in a professional manner.

“I’m not going to talk much about what happened with Bongani Zungu.”

He continued;

“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.”

Ntseki said there was no bad blood between himself and the player.

“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,” Ntseki stated.

Bafana are second in Group C of the qualifiers after losing away to Ghana and beating Sudan at home.