Topics: South Africa
Orlando Pirates notched a relatively straightforward 3-0 win over Sekhukhune United at the weekend, but their controversial showboating during the game has divided opinion.
Joseph Makhanya's side overtook Cape Town City FC in the DStv Diski Challenge title race on Saturday as goals from Sonwabo Khumalo and Relebohile Ratomo [2] sealed all three points.
The Pirates, who have picked up 39 points from 18 games this season, looked comfortable throughout.
But the league leaders have been criticised by some for 'disrespecting' opponents Sekhukhune with some outrageous showboating towards the end of the fixture. Take a look at some of those 'skills' below.
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As you can see from the footage above, a number of Orlando Pirates players can be seen taunting their opponents by dancing around the ball. In fact, at one stage, the number five drops to his knees before retaining possession.
Here's how fans on social media reacted to the incident.
One said: "If I was the coach I was going to be harsh on these boys," while another wrote: "This is embarrassing. These boys don’t understand that the main goal is to be recognized by senior team, whoever is coaching them is not doing good job when it comes to keeping them grounded and focused."
A third commented: "That's the reason our national teams cannot win tournaments. We will never get anywhere with this."
Despite some saying it was poor sportsmanship, others enjoyed the showboating, including Orlando coach Joseph Makhanya, who defended his team for expressing themselves.
When asked if flair is something he encourages, Makhanya said: "Football is an expression. If you are feeling confident about doing certain things, do them.
"From my side, I was that kind of a player so I'll always encourage players to express themselves as long as they feel confident about it.
"This game needs more confident players so sometimes you need to do certain things. So yes, some might see these things as disrespectful but we check the result. It's 3-0."
Thoughts on the showboating from Orlando? Let us know in the comments.
