Sundowns have suspended analyst Mario Masha pending an investigation after it was reported that he shared team information and tactics with his former colleague Mokwena. Masha denies any wrong-doing.
Mokwena says it was rather information that he was asked to look at by Masha as the latter navigates his UEFA coaching license.
“Reputation is built through years of conduct and not anonymous screenshots,” Mokwena told the media on Friday. “And let me state this very clearly. Mario has not given me any tactical or confidential information about Sundowns.
“The conversations referenced were professional football discussions, some personal relating to his UEFA licenses. He asked me to help him (go) through various methodologies, previous work done together at Sundowns and offer tactical ideas that included European examples such as those from Manchester City.
“At no point were current Sundowns tactical plans or confidential material shared with me. I would never ask him to compromise his integrity for me, and I would never ask anyone to risk their career for a competitive advantage.”
Sundowns must beat MC Alger in Pretoria to advance from their Champion League group after a stuttering campaign to this point. A draw will be enough to put MC Alger through.
Mokwena has a long history at Sundowns, first as an assistant coach to Pitso Mosimane, then co-coach with Manqoba Mngqithi and later head coach in his own right.
He left the club in July 2024, initially for Wydad Casablanca in Morocco, before joining MC Alger a year later.
