Chippa United technical director Morgan Mammila has weighed in on the feud between Kwanele Kopo and Jose Riveiro.
Kopo, a co-coach with Thabo September at the Chilli Boys, accused the Orlando Pirates coach of being abusive towards their bench and striker Bienvenu Eva Nga during their Nedbank Cup semi-final encounter at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
A brace from Kabelo Dlamini, accompanied by a Tapelo Xoki tap-in, saw the Buccaneers prevail 3-1, with Elmo Kambindu netting for the home side.
Mammila says even though he couldn't hear a word due to the noise at the stadium, he did see the altercations between Kopo and the Spaniard.
"Because they were standing, and from where I was seated, I just saw something was happening, but I couldn't hear because of the crowd. I was focusing on the game," Mammila tells KickOff.
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"I don't want to lie, I just saw them talking and exchanging words. I couldn't hear what was being said, but the hand gestures were something else.
"The only thing I can say is, after the match, Jose refused to greet Eva Nga. That’s what I saw.
"And I told Eva Nga that he mustn't worry because he played well. He had a wonderful game. He was top-notch."
The Cameroonian striker joined Pirates ahead of the 2022/23 season, and though he started on a good note, he went on to have one difficult spell at the club.
"Eva doesn't even know what issues the Pirates coach might have with him. I think Jose he's got his own opinion, which I don't know what it might be, and he is within his rights to have his opinion, but truly speaking, yesterday [Saturday] Eva Nga was just hardworking.
"The only incident I remember is when he jumped with the Pirates keeper, and you can't jump with your hands down as you will need them to balance.
"That’s the only thing I saw. We see things differently," he added.
This is the second feud between coaches in the PSL after the ongoing spat between TS Galaxy head coach Sead Ramovic and his Mamelodi Sundowns counterpart Rulani Mokwena.
"That's the beauty of the game. This is an entertainment sport with emotions, but we must do it right because it brings out the competitiveness in our games.
"Today, nobody wants to miss a Mamelodi Sundowns v TS Galaxy game, everybody wants to see it. It brings out the vibe in that game, and I like it that way but not in a brutal way.
"We still need to respect each other. I'm happy that Kopo went into the Pirates dressing room to meet the Pirates coach as he wanted to iron out everything, but I don't know what was discussed.
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"Football is a gentleman's game. I just hope Jose and our technical team will not take this thing personally. We must fight with tactics. After the match, we should have coffee together. But one thing is for sure, it does bring the vibe to our game this kind of thing.
"The same applies with the players, I dribble you and you dribble me. You can’t just laugh and take it easy if I dribble you, that’s how football should be."
