Ahly's coach Pitso Mosimane greets the fans after the win in the FIFA Club World Cup 3rd place football match between Egypt's Al-Ahly vs Brazil's Palmeiras at the Education City Stadium in the Qatari city of Ar-Rayyan on February 11, 2021. AFP
The South Africa Football Association (SAFA) announced late on Sunday that it is prepared to hand out the harshest of penalties to the perpetrators of the abuse directed towards former Mamelodi Sundowns coach and current tactician of Egypt's Ahly Pitso Mosimane.
The SAFA boss Advocate Tebogo Motlanthe confirmed in a statement that an investigation has been opened to determine the identity of the abusers, and that SAFA considers coach Mosimane its “proud ambassador.”
Ahly's bus was stopped by angry Sundowns fans while en route to the stadium before the quarter final second-leg clash in Pretoria, with supporters holding up placards emblazoned with obscenities against Mosimane.
"These individuals have not only humiliated coach Pitso Mosimane, they have brought the name of the country into disrepute, and as SAFA we will leave no stone unturned in identifying these individuals and hand out harshest of penalties against the perpetrators," Motlanthe was quoted as saying on the SAFA official website.
"We have requested for an urgent report from the security and police at the stadium and we will also await a report from the club. We are treating this matter with the urgency and seriousness it deserves. We cannot tolerate this; Mosimane is our proud ambassador and what these people did needs to be condemned by all civilised society,” Motlanthe concluded.
The 56-year-old coach Mosimane led Sundowns to a host of titles during a highly-successful eight-year reign before taking charge of Ahly in October last year.
Meanwhile, South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns issued an apology to Ahly and coach Mosimane for "the improper conduct" of some of their supporters before their Champions League game on Saturday.
Mosimane himself said after the game against Mamelodi Sundowns that he did not deserve the ill-treatment he received from a section of fans as the Egyptian giants qualified for the African Champions League semi-final at the expense of his ex-club on Saturday.
Ahly eliminated Sundowns from the CAF Champions League quarterfinals after beating them 3-1 on aggregate and will face Esperance of Tunisia in the semis next June.
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