Following his recent radio interview, the news this week has been about Stanley 'Screamer' Tshabalala from Orlando Pirates after he spoke about his alleged interference on technical team matters at the club.
For several seasons, it has been alleged that the experienced administrator would at times advise the players behind the scenes in a way perceived to be alleged interference by some.
Tshabalala is a former coach of Mamelodi Sundowns and boasts loads of experience in the game in Mzansi in technical and office matters.
Speaking on Gagasi FM's sports show recently, Tshabalala broke his silence on the coaching allegations and dismissed them as speculation.
In doing so, specific reference was made about an incident which happened in December 2020 during Josef Zinnbauer's time as Bucs' head coach.
It was during the game against Cape Town City and Tshabalala was captured by television cameras appearing to be sending instructions to the bench via former Pirates captain Happy Jele, who was a substitute on the day and had been sitting on the stand as per Covid-19 rules at the time.
However, Tshabalala has denied the allegations of interference.
"I was also surprised. So, when you ask a player to bring you water, is that coaching? I was only sending him (Jele) to get water, but he said, 'It's like we are not playing well'. And I said, 'All will be fine, just bring us water here, it's the four of us here. But now it's like we were coaching or I was telling him what he must do go or he must go and tell the coach what to do. No coach wants to be told what to do and what not to do," said Tshabalala during the radio interview.
"When a coach is a coach, the team is his. He works with that team and he owns the team. So, you can't tell the coach which player to play, it can never happen. And I don't like that myself because when you are a coach the team belongs to you, it's your team. Whoever is coming from the outside and trying to tell you what to do must come to training to see what you do. You can never change a team selected by the coach," he said, speaking to the radio station.
Former Pirates striker James Mothibi has weighed in on the allegations of interference at the Buccaneers.
The Good
"That Screamer and Happy Jele incident happened a long time ago when the player was still at Pirates and he is no longer there and I don't know why people should bring up old videos and pictures. Why now? Do they want to dent the image of Pirates or what? The way I know Screamer, he is a very nice person who is always making jokes for all those around him to be happy and laughing at all times," said Mothibi.
The Bad
"What is discouraging about this whole thing is that we are dealing with assumptions. We can't say for sure that Screamer is coaching, because if he coaching he would be sitting on the bench with the rest of the technical team. Sometimes these things happen all over the world where an official would give advice here and there and that can't be called interference. If you give a player advice after the match, is that interference? No! You are advising the boy and the bottom line is that the coach must have a final say," he said.
The Ugly
"I would like to urge people to stop talking about things that they don't have facts about. I see a lot of allegations that Screamer and Floyd Mbele have been interfering with the coaches' jobs at Pirates, but where are the facts to back that up? If people want to argue about that, they must at least have facts," added Mothibi.
Interference Talk Aimed At Disrupting Progress
"The way I see it, all of this talk about interference is aimed at disrupting the progress of Pirates. It is aimed at delaying the processes of the Pirates coaches. The players are on social media and they read what's being said and that can be disruptive to the team's progress. This whole talk about interference is frustrating to the players, I can imagine. My only hope is that mentally and physically they are strong," concluded the Warrenton-born legend.
Should Club Officials Refrain From Being In Contact With Players During Official Matches?
