AFC Leopards coach Aussems angered by ‘stupid guys’ after Sofapaka brawl

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 14 – AFC Leopards head coach Patrick Aussems was left red faced after his side’s 1-1 draw against Sofapaka at the Nyayo National Stadium on Sunday, accusing some members of the Sofapaka technical bench of ‘being stupid’.

The game had to be halted after 37 minutes when members of both technical benches went up against each other, the result being Sofapaka’s assistant coach David Ouma being red carded.

According to those close to the bench, Ouma was accused of throwing a jibe at Aussems’ qualification papers, something that angered the entire AFC bench almost resulting in a brawl.

Police and stewards had to come in between to cool tempers, with Aussems remonstrating with head coach Ken Odhiambo at halftime, complaining over Ouma’s behaviour.

“Some stupid guys should try to learn one or two things and know football,” an angered Aussems said after the match.

The brawl seemed to have thrown Sofapaka off balance as they conceded the equalizer almost immediately after the backline went to sleep, allowing Dan Musamali to head home.

Despite the fracas, Aussems chose to look at the brighter side of things and said he was pleased with the performance of his team.

“We move forward little by little and every point we get counts. We have only lost one game in the last 15 with a young team and with all the problems we are facing every day. I am satisfied especially if you see that the game today and also last week, we had to come from down and that means we never give up,” the Belgian coach said.

Meanwhile, the tactician says he is dejected over the transfer embargo slapped on the club which means some of the new players that joined in January cannot play.

Among the players who were snapped up by AFC in the mid-season transfer window include the returning John Mark Makwatta and Cliff Nyakeya.

“I am frustrated that I can’t field these players. I do not have any news on them. Everyday in training they bring a higher level and if I could use them, we will definitely have more points and create more opportunities to score. It is a frustration to train with them and not use them during the game,” the coach said.

Leopards’ next match will be a home duel against Kenya Police FC on Wednesday.