Simba CEO Hits Back At Ncikazi

Simba CEO Barbara Gonzalez has hit back at Orlando Pirates co-coach Mandla Ncikazi after he had claimed the Tanzanian side treated his team “like animals”.

The Tanzanian giants secured a slender 1-0 first-leg win over the Buccaneers after Simba scored the only goal of the match from the penalty spot.

Ncikazi questioned the penalty after the match, but also slammed Simba’s treatment of Pirates throughout their stay in Tanzania.

“As Africans let’s change this mentality that when opponents come to Tanzania, you so hostile to them that you treat them like animals, so inhumane, everywhere you go, we treated so badly,” he said after the game.

Gonzalez, though, hit back at Ncikazi and revealed she’s considering to lodge an official complaint against the Sea Robbers co-coach.

“I was deeply disturbed, to be honest. Defamatory statements of any manner, unacceptable and it’s one thing to play mind games but to go to a level of tarnishing the name, not only of Simba but also the country is just absolutely unacceptable,” Gonzalez told Thabiso Mosia on MetroFMSport.

“As a club, I’m going to file a complaint to CAF, but also to the diplomatic channels because these type of threats and defamatory statements are unacceptable.

“If this behaviour continues, it’s going to create a lot of hostility going forward. We can’t accept it.”

Gonzalez insisted that she didn’t get any complaints from Pirates before Ncikazi’s feisty press conference after the game.

“Not at all, everything that they required – escort, facilitation at the airport, free travel, Floyd [Mbele] and I go back four to five years, catching up over coffee and we know each other quite well, so we were chatting up until the moment on plane, when they arrived and they were very happy with the support we gave them,” she added.

“You know in football, there are certain individuals who are insecure about their job and in Tanzania we have a big rivalry in football, so sometimes certain tricks are used to tarnish the image of football but also the good image of Simba.

“But we don’t stand by any of those comments, we are hospitable people, we treat people with respect and kindness and we like to be treated the same. So for me when someone makes such comments it’s unacceptable and the longer we remain silent, I really need to take this complaint further. It’s unacceptable in my eyes.”

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