AmaZulu coach Pablo Francon Martin has defended himself against claims by his Chippa United counterpart Morgan Mammila, who had alleged the Spaniard insulted him.
Mammila and Martin had argued with each other before the two sides met in the DStv Premiership match at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
That was transferred on the pitch as Thabiso Lebitso and Elmo Kambindu were sent off for Chippa, with the former kicking at Ethan Brooks.
Chippa were denied a clear goal when Lebitso’s shot was slid into the empty net by Kambindu in the first half but it was chalked off.
Kambindu was then sent off in injury-time when he flung his elbow to Wayde Jooste, who was left blooded in the face.
That added more fuel to fire, with Mammila claiming in his post-match interview that Martin had insulted him, while Martin stated Mammila is very disrespectful to other coaches but he himself has never insulted anyone in his career.
“I want to kill this, because I think it’s not good for football to be talking about those things,” said Martin ahead of his side’s Carling Knockout Cup match against Golden Arrows.
“But since you have asked, I want to take advantage to say something. We cannot allow anyone to say something that is not true. When someone is lying, saying in an opposite way, I’m going to come here and interchange things to say what happened and what didn’t happen, you have the tools to dig to know what really happens.
“I can tell you, I’m a well-educated guy and I’m really happy and I thank God for the parents I have and the education they gave me. I can tell you in 23 years of my career I have never insulted any of my colleagues.
“Yes, we argue with each other and that is football, but never insulted. But when someone is lying, taking advantage, saying things that probably he was the one saying them, not me, I have to defend myself.
“I was raised in values and the same values I’m trying to take to this team and for me respect and honesty is key.
“This situation is over and I’m not going to give any second publicity because we keep playing this game.”
A few coaches have told iDiski Times they feel Mammila is disrespectful in the way he talks about other teams and coaches.
One recent example came back to bite the Chippa coach, as when he said he wanted the Soweto teams – Orlando Pirates or Kaizer Chiefs – or “the team that is limping” (referring to Mamelodi Sundowns) after they had lost the MTN8 final to Pirates, during the Carling Knockout quarter-final draw.
As Chippa were drawn against Stellenbosch FC, Mammila appeared to throw his hands in a disrespectful manner to Stellies coach Steve Barker on the draw stand, but it was Barker who had the last laugh as Stellies kicked the Chilli Boys out of the competition in the first round.
