Gabuza apologises to Pirates fans
Orlando Pirates striker Thamsanqa Gabuza has apologised to the Bucs faithful following a goal celebration that sought to ridicule his supporters.
|||Johannesburg - Orlando Pirates striker Thamsanqa Gabuza has apologised to the Bucs faithful following a goal celebration in his team's 4-2 Nedbank Cup semi-final victory over Free Stars on Saturday that sought to ridicule his supporters.
After getting onto the score sheet, Gabuza went from hero to villain when he was booked with a yellow card for inciting the supporters when his goal scoring celebration was directed towards applauding fans.
“I know what I did was wrong. I acted out of frustration and lost sight of what was important, which is the Orlando Pirates brand and its supporters,” said Gabuza.
“I think the match referee acted accordingly because I deserved the yellow card and I would like to apologise to the Orlando Pirates supporters and the entire football fraternity for that unsavoury celebration.”
Gabuza promised to never behave in such a manner again. “I respect our supporters who follow the team all over the country and who braved the adverse weather conditions on Saturday to inspire us to a win when we were at our lowest. Our supporters deserve better than that; I promise not to do it again.”
The Bucs player said his reaction was a buildup of poorly-directed emotions. “I always want to do well for the Team and for me the best way to do that is to score goals. I have obviously been missing my chances now of late which made me feel bad and those feelings were compounded by all the negative attention I have been subjected to.
“So when the goal came I was not even thinking about the supporters or how the celebration would be perceived. I was just relieved to finally score, however the celebration was completely unnecessary and such behaviour is unjustifiable.”
The yellow card Gabuza received means he will miss out on his team's final Premiership clash against SuperSport United on Saturday.
“It pains me that I won't be able to do battle for my team in the upcoming Absa Premiership match as it's an important match for us which will determine whether we finish in the top eight or not. But the good thing is that we have depth in the Team with capable strikers who can do the job for Pirates.”
African News Agency