Opinion

Has Gabuza crossed the line of professionalism?

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Thamsanqa Gabuza

There’s no denying Orlando Pirates striker Thamsanqa Gabuza’s wrong-doing in his reaction to the boo-boys, but fans also need to shoulder responsibility for their constant criticism, writes DYLAN APPOLIS.

The veteran striker has and continues to be at the centre of wide-spread criticism from the Pirates faithful for his due to constantly misfiring. Recently, it most notably happened in Pirates 1-0 loss against Bloemfontein Celtic and now the situation seemed to reach tipping point with the player engaging in what can only be described as an outburst during Pirates’ 2-1 win over Black Leopards at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Tuesday night.

READ: Gabuza sees red in Pirates victory

After missing a string of chances, Gabuza produced the cross that led to Thivhavhudzi Ndou’s own goal.

What happened next shocked many: in celebrating the goal, Gabuza took off his jersey and threw it to the fans in anger before walking off the field, and despite his coach Milutin Sredojevic pushing him back, he kept on walking in frustration. The Buccaneers were then forced to play the remaining minutes of the first half with 10 men as he did not return to the pitch.

In what seemed to be an attempt to prevent action against him, the former Bafana Bafana striker came out of the dressing room limping with his leg heavily strapped, even though he’d walked off the field unhindered.

ALSO READ: Five talking points from Pirates victory over Leopards

When Gabuza eventually returned to the bench in the second half, match referee Thando Ndzandzeka showed him two yellow cards in quick succession – the first yellow for taking his jersey off during the celebration and the second for leaving the field without permission.

Speaking on the incident, Sredojevic had this to say: ‘Our player Gabuza went off because prior to that, he got kicked in his muscle. After the goal was scored, and because of that injury, he left. However, the referee recognised as per the rules that he went out of the field without him knowing.

‘He put the jersey down so that’s a double yellow card – red card. We played for 60 minutes with a player less against a very good team and it was not easy. However, the players gave everything and we deservedly scored the second goal.’

WATCH: Gabuza leaves pitch after celebrating Pirates’ goal

While the issue reeks of wrond-doing on the part of Ganda-Ganda, the largely issue at hand needs to be addressed and that is the role of fans.

Many people tend to forget that behind every footballer is a human being and regardless of them underperforming or not, they are always under constant scrutiny and abuse. They are human beings, after all.

I can understand that Gabuza feels overwhelmed by the constant hatred directed at him by the very supporters who profess to be loyal and faithful supporters of the club.

We should not be demoralising players based on their performance; we should be encouraging and inspiring them to better themselves. At the end of the day, it is their job.

Gabuza has endured constant abuse ever since he joined the Buccaneers from Golden Arrows back in 2013 and his reaction in Polokwane on Tuesday was unwarranted for any professional footballer. It was a sign of pent-up anger and frustration from all the years of abuse. Although we know that the 31-year-old’s behaviour was unprofessional, the fans should also take responsibility for their role in what conspired.

ALSO READ: Micho praises Pirates amid Gabuza theatrics

Yes, Gabuza does have flaws just as do many other footballers, but he also deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, the same respect you would give to any other player. And yes, supporters have their right to express themselves or feel frustrated by underperforming players – the same way they feel about coaches on a weekly basis – but there is a line between being passionate about your club and being abusive.

These incidents and scrutiny have no place in football and should be prevented from happening in the future. And as much as we expect footballers to be professional and take criticism, we, as supporters, have to act accordingly so as not to bring the beautiful game into disrepute.

As South Africans and supporters of the game, we should stand together and show more compassion towards players and coaches if we are to ever move forward in terms of football.

However, Gabuza took to twitter to apologise to the Buccaneers fans and here is what he had to say:

Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix