Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has revealed he has expressed his disappointment to Thembikosi Lorch after the player called him in tears over the incident that trended on social media.
Lorch, 30, won his first ever league title, helping Sundowns to wrap their seventh successive league after joining the club in January.
Despite missing out on an ‘Invincibles’ campaign after their 1-0 defeat to Cape Town City, Sundowns celebrated their 2023/24 league title on Saturday.
The celebrations seemed to run over into the weekend, with Lorch going live on his social media account on Sunday night, celebrating with two female friends, seemingly under the influence, which sent domestic football fans into a frenzy.
Mokwena reacted to the incident on Monday evening on radio, but insisted he cannot go too much into detail because he still needs to fully address it with his player after having a brief telephonic chat on Monday morning.
“Like everybody else, Lorch is human, Like me, who makes mistakes, who is imperfect,” Mokwena told Andile Ncube on MetroFM.
“I’m probably even more imperfect than him and I make probably more mistakes than him.
“But I cannot go deep into this issue because I still have to discuss it with him face to face. He phoned me and he was in tears. And that broke me, for sure.
“Because I’m close to my players, when my players are crying and are emotional, I get emotional, and I cry and I feel their pain too. And that’s how close I am with them.
“But I don’t want to talk too much about the issue except to say that I am extremely disappointed because I have said that to him on the phone.
“And the rest of what we will discuss and say will be in person. Particularly because my biggest disappointment is the going live [on Instagram]. I’ve seen Phil Foden and I’ve seen I’ve seen some of the best players enjoy themselves and celebrate the title successes…
“But we also have to understand the role we hold in society, that says ours is to inspire and educate and serve. We’ve got a bigger role than just what people think.
“And part to a professional footballer’s career is not just looking after your talent, but it’s looking after your career. And looking after your career means managing even all the other stuff that is around the career.”
Mokwena then reiterated that he will have a private talk with his player about his behaviour, admitting that even Lorch’s father called him.
“I have to speak to him in person first, and he has to hear my feelings about the incident and how I view the incident in its entirety,” he added.
“And that involves what I know from the past, what I know from my time having spent with him in the previous club at Pirates. And that is a discussion, unfortunately is not for public consumption.
“As I said, it’s individual it’s a one-on-one and it’s one that has to take place with respect, but also with also a clear understanding of what is allowed and tolerated at Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club and what is not.”
Sundowns’ players had two off days after their title celebration but will return to Chloorkop on Tuesday to prepare for Saturday’s Nedbank Cup final against Lorch and Mokwena’s former club, Pirates.
