Miguel Cardoso mum on alleged Komphela-Bianchi altercation

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso kept his cards close to his chest when pressed on the alleged assault of Wiliete Benguela head coach Beto Bianchi by Steve Komphela.

The Brazilians' senior coach reportedly kicked the Portuguese mentor in a ‘sensitive’ area during an altercation on the back of the goalless draw in the first leg of their CAF Champions League second round clash.

Bianchi is said to have racially abused Komphela following a disagreement, prompting the Sundowns coach to respond physically with a punch, which subsequently landed the Wiliete boss in hospital, according to reports.

When quizzed on the matter, Cardoso was tight-lipped, suggesting the media made a mountain out of a molehill, and attributes the entire fiasco to rising tempers.

“There are two or three things I can say. The first one is that small things can sometimes become big things when you obviously give them attention. And I think that was too much more attention than it was necessary for what happened,” said the Downs mentor.

"The second one is that we were very well received in Angola, and we were even taken out until the last moment we entered the flight. The teams are establishing a fantastic relationship in terms of the way people connected. So, football has to do with a lot of emotions, there's a lot of emotions sometimes.

"They sometimes drop out of the glass, it doesn't mean that the glass is broken or the water is spoiled. No, it's just a little bit of too much emotions, and we already overcame that and for sure it will be a beautiful match on Friday, with people that will respect each other in a big party as always Mamelodi Sundowns fans do, and we will welcome very well for sure the people from Wiliete.

The former Esperance de Tunis boss went on to state that the two clubs have a healthy relationship despite the altercation between members of the respective technical teams in Lubango.

“I had a beautiful talk with the coach [Bianchi] in the day before the match when we went for the press conference, and for sure I will have an absolutely normal talk again this time,” Cardoso added.

"There will be no extra energy on any direction from both teams rather than inside the pitch because that is where the teams will have to fight each other and to play each other.

"So, I think that everything is overcome, and let's not make a big noise of something that's very small. There's so many things that happen in football that we don't speak about, but this time it flooded a little bit more.

Sundowns host the Girabola log leaders in the return leg at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Friday, with a lucrative spot in the group stage of Africa's premier club competition on the line.

Hlayisani Magoro

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Football journalist from South Africa covering African football news, exclusive stories and key events while sharing insights with passionate fans of the game.

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