- Mako was seen gathering information from Dondol
- But it looks like it did not work as the match went to penalties
- A former referee comments on the spying incident
WHAT HAPPENED? Mako was captured infiltrating Dondol’s team talk during extra time of Pirates’ Nedbank Cup quarter-final against the third division outfit. The Buccaneers wing-back stood among Dondol players while attentively listening to their coaches.
Dondol players ignored him as their coaches continued giving them instructions. Seemingly armed with information, Mako was then seen calling his teammates to brief them just before play resumed.
Ncobo says the Pirates star never broke any football rules but it was unsporting behaviour to spy on Dondol Stars in that fashion.
WHAT WAS SAID: “There isn’t any rule [against what Mako did] but anything that has the potential to brew trouble, shouldn’t be done,” said Ncobo as per iDiski Times.
“Imagine he had been discovered, standing there, stealing information. It’s unsporting conduct. The moment they push him, the person that pushes is the one that gets disciplined by the referee.
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“This is a gentleman’s game, we don’t do things that have the potential to brew trouble.
“I understand the ‘agent’ side of it – there is nothing in the laws of the game that prevents him from doing that. But it’s a gentleman’s game, there are certain unwritten rules in football of certain things that you can and cannot do.
“Every time a referee takes action, that action must be bound to the laws of the game. The moment he walks there, the player says ‘what rule have I broken’ and you [as referee] are not going to have an answer. The coaches must advise players not to do that, it’s got the potential to brew trouble.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Mako’s spying mission, however, appeared to have not worked as the third-tier side dragged Pirates to a penalty shootout. Dondol almost humiliated the Soweto giants who were lucky to sail through the lottery of spot-kicks.
Mako’s actions might be seen as a ploy to try and distract their opponents. Had Dondol entertained him, they could have lost crucial time for a team talk.
It was also a match Dondol accused a Pirates official of “disgusting” behaviour when he snatched their goalkeeper’s water bottle from the goalposts. Dondol co-coach Khuliso Rashamuse felt it was an attempt to distract their goalkeeper.
WHAT NEXT FOR MAKO? With Thabiso Monyane now fully fit, Mako will be hoping to continue as an inverted right-back when Pirates resume their Premier Soccer League campaign against Cape Town City on Saturday.