TS Galaxy coach Sead Ramovic (left) lets rip at Sundowns counterpart Rulani Mokwena (striped top) during Tuesday’s clash in Mbombela. Photo: BackpagePix
SEAD Ramovic was clearly not fully satisfied with having come super-close to removing Mamelodi Sundowns’ cloak of invincibility, the TS Galaxy coach taking a swipe at his adversary Rulani Mokwena after their thrilling 1-1 DStv Premiership draw on Tuesday night.
“He’s a liar – he should put the pants down. He is a liar, and we want to show everyone that he is a liar,” Ramovic said in a post-match interview at Mbombela Stadium, in reference to a comment Mokwena made after their previous match last month.
The Rockets are challenging his utterances in court.
The Sundowns coach claimed that he had heard that Ramovic had encouraged his team to go in hard on Bongani Zungu after the midfielder was hacked shortly after coming on as a substitute in the first-round league match at Loftus Versfeld.
Zungu had broken Bernard Parker’s leg in a Carling Knockout Cup clash Galaxy won via a penalty shoot-out to set off a war of words between the two men, thus creating a bitter rivalry between the two coaches that looks set to spice up what can often be a drab Premiership.
There was spice in Tuesday’s match alright, Galaxy playing like men possessed, attacking Sundowns and giving them little time on the ball like no local team has done this season.
All the drama 👀
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) May 21, 2024
All the emotions 😤
Look at what the goals meant to Sead Ramovic and Rulani Mokwena. #DStvPrem pic.twitter.com/qESNW0LM8z
As it was, The Rockets should have won the match, but Thato Khiba missed a sitter during a Galaxy attacking spell that forced Sundowns into a rearguard action they’d not experienced all season.
Ramovic’s celebration of his team’s goal via Puso Dithejane late in the match was wild, the coach running into the crowd, while most of his bench celebrated in front of the Sundowns bench – to Mokwena’s disgust.
But Sundowns equalised four minutes from time via Peter Shalulile.
It did not end there, though, as Ramovic got involved in a bit of pushing and shoving with a member of the Brazilians’ entourage on the pitch, before Mokwena had to be moved away from a fracas that eventually saw the police on the ground.
And then Ramovic added salt to the wound by suggesting that they “outclassed” them, and that Sundowns would have to buy world superstars Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to beat Galaxy – before having a go at Mokwena.
“He made us a story, and this is just principles. My value is honesty. I was raised up like this, and he – I don’t know how. He lied about Parker. He lied about (Hugo) Broos (the Bafana Bafana coach),” the Galaxy boss said.
🤔 ℂ𝕆𝔸ℂℍ'𝕊 ℝ𝔼𝔸ℂ𝕋𝕀𝕆ℕ 🤔
— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) May 21, 2024
🗣️ "You don't always win with million dollar players - we don't have financial power like them. It was a beautiful game."
TS Galaxy head coach Sead Ramović after their match against Mamelodi Sundowns!#SABCSportFootball #DStvPrem pic.twitter.com/WcsW7NwhBS
“He lied about me. He threatened me. He called me and he said a lot of bad things. And what I read, I am not sure if this is right, he also manhandled a schoolboy. This shows what a character he is.”
And Ramovic believes they are doing the right thing by taking Mokwena to court.
“The principles are there ... You cannot just say ‘okay, I don’t care he lied’, and just let it pass.
“What will happen in the next time? What is now a big lie and a small lie? What if he says to the other one he beat someone or he stole something? A lie is a lie, a small or a big lie.
“But probably he is practising any time that he likes to lie, and he just continues.
“We want to make a proof that he lied, and we want to make the point, because it is a shame that a coach like him at a beautiful institution like Sundowns is a liar.”