A fuming club official has opened up on bribery allegations, following a heavy defeat by his team on the weekend.
As the Motsepe Foundation Championship season came to an end on Sunday, Pretoria Callies conceded a whopping four goals in their 4-0 loss against Polokwane City at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.
The result meant that Rise and Shine won automatic promotion back to the DStv Premiership after edging Cape Town Spurs who had been the leaders before the matches on goal difference.
While there had been other games with big scores on the day, it was Callies coach Kwanele Kopo's post-match comments that stole the show after he lamented his players and insinuated that he suspected wrongdoing from them.
Kopo was quoted as saying, and in part, "We haven't conceded four goals in a match this season and we conceded four in one half. It was very disappointing. A loss like that always raises questions among football fans and it has raised questions within myself as well."
However, the club's football manager Peter Koutroulis has lamented the reports suggesting that they might have thrown the game away.
Koutroulis joined the club late last year when they were at the bottom of the log and has been lauded for the turnaround which saw them finish in 10th place on the second tier log.
The Good
"If you check, at one stage Polokwane City were six points ahead on the log but they collapsed along the way. But Polokwane have a very good team, I must say. Yes, nobody would have thought that Pretoria Callies would go there and lose by a big score. You know something, football players dream about the holidays when they go into the last game of the season, especially if they have got nothing to play for. It's something that results in them not putting in 100% effort on the field. But for me, if you are a professional footballer, you have to give it your all no matter what, until the referee blows the final whistle. You can't go there and be an embarrassment and embarrass your club, coach and everybody," said Koutroulis.
The Bad
"You know, we lost 4-0 against Polokwane City. But a lot of people think that Pretoria Callies threw the game away. That's not the truth. The team had a bad game and that's all. That's what happens when the spine of your team is having a bad game. For me, it was sad also because we lost 4-0. For the six months that I have been with the club, Callies has never lost by a big score. It would be 1-0 or 2-1 and not 4-0. 4-0 is such a big score for a team like Callies to lose because before the Polokwane game everybody had been talking about us as we had a 12-game unbeaten run at some stage. I don't like it when people talk about Callies having thrown the game because there is nothing like that. Anyway, I wish Polokwane City good luck for the PSL (DStv Premiership) and that's all I can say," he said.
The Ugly
"What has happened is also a disappointment for the owner of the club because he has invested a lot in the team and has been taking care of the players and everybody at the club. This is not fair to him. I challenge anybody or any player who knows something about the alleged bribery to come out," Koutroulis added.
We Will Need A Good Structure
Planning For Next Season
"We need to sit down and come up with a good structure to take the club forward. Already, with the material and the players that are at Callies, they can promote the club next season. But we will need a good structure in order to make it happen. I am talking about the structure that will ensure that at the end of the first round, the team will be seven points ahead at least," concluded we will need a good structure.
How Do You Feel About Koutroulis' Views Amid Bribery Allegations?
