South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has backtracked over the initial comments he made about Mbekezeli Mbokazi's late arrival to Bafana Bafana's camp, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup hosts have been drawn into AFCON 2025 Group B alongside Egypt, Angola and Zimbabwe.
One of his players, 20-year-old Mbokazi, travelled to America to finalise a transfer to Chicago Fire, which led to a late arrival with the remainder of the players already in camp as they prepare for their AFCON campaign.
The decision did not go down well with Broos, who publicly lashed out at the young centre-back, even belittling the club he chose to sign for.
“Mbokazi just arrived, or he will arrive in 15 minutes, I think, but I didn't want to speak about it, but okay, you asked a question. I think you have a right to know that I am not pleased with what he did,” the 73-year-old said in quotes revealed by One Football.
“So, he let us know that he missed his flight yesterday in Durban. It was the coach of Pirates [Orlando] who informed me, and he was very angry that he [Mbokazi] missed his flight, and it's an unprofessional attitude.
“Pirates sent me a message with nonsense, real nonsense [on] why he missed his plane, and I will not tell you what the nonsense is – those are nonsense. And that is the worst thing that the club protect the player for his unprofessional attitude. This is South Africa, and this is very bad.
“When you are a 19-year-old guy who received a call-up for the national team to play AFCON and to play the World Cup next year, and the coach gave you a few days more off, if you are somebody with a good attitude, you don't even want those two days, and you are here on Monday like the other players.
“So, I will have a chat with him after training, and I can assure you he's a black guy, but he will get out of my room as a white guy because which I can't accept.
“I will tell you what I think. What is he going to do in Chicago? It's not even a top team in America, and if my info is right, I don't know, because they told me that he will play in MLS 2, on the second team of Chicago.
“I don't know if it's the truth, they told me. So, I will ask him when I see him, that is even worse,” added the 73-year-old tactician.
Broos comes under fire for Mbokazi's comments, retracts statements
The comments made by the Belgian manager saw him come under intense scrutiny, largely about the change of skin colour.
The 73-year-old has now clarified the statement, claiming he didn't intend for his speech to convey any racist connotations.
“When Mbokazi arrived late in the Bafana Bafana camp in preparation for the most important tournament on the continent, AFCON, I was incredibly angry,” the former Cameroon coach said in quotes revealed by iDiski Times.
“I saw that things could go wrong. It would be a waste if Mbokazi didn't pursue the career he was blessed with due to a lack of proper guidance.
“I agree that my choice of words was not right and I want to apologise for that. But I never, I repeat.
“I'm neither a racist nor sexist. I thank you,” Hugo Broos concluded.
“When Mbokazi arrived late in the Bafana Bafana camp in preparation for the most important tournament of the continent, AFCON, I was incredibly angry.
“I saw that things could go wrong. It would be a waste if Mbokazi didn't pursue the career he… pic.twitter.com/kcxsxisNoN
— iDiski Times (@iDiskiTimes) December 15, 2025
Bafana Bafana will play their first AFCON 2025 fixture against Angola at Stade de Marrakech on Monday, December 22.
