Legendary former defender Dan Malesela expressed his disappointment that the clash between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns became more about off the field issues than football.
The two giants played a goalless league match at the weekend that was marred by incidents that made a mockery of the beautiful game.
Malesela was a defensive pillar in his heyday in the 1980s and early 90s where he played for both Pirates and Sundowns.
The 53-year-old TS Galaxy coach says back during their time the match was fierce but the drama was on the pitch.
"The rivalry was very strong back then but it was not tense at an extreme level. In the previous game I saw a lot of rough play that I did not expect," Malesela said.
"When I was a player our main focus for us was to entertain. It's unfortunate when you see other things come into the game and spoiling the whole thing. It's no longer about football."
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Legendary former defender Dan Malesela expressed his disappointment that the clash between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns became more about off the field issues than football.
The two giants played a goalless league match at the weekend that was marred by incidents that made a mockery of the beautiful game.
Malesela was a defensive pillar in his heyday in the 1980s and early 90s where he played for both Pirates and Sundowns.
The 53-year-old TS Galaxy coach says back during their time the match was fierce but the drama was on the pitch.
"The rivalry was very strong back then but it was not tense at an extreme level. In the previous game I saw a lot of rough play that I did not expect," Malesela said.
"When I was a player our main focus for us was to entertain. It's unfortunate when you see other things come into the game and spoiling the whole thing. It's no longer about football."
Malesela feels in some ways Sundowns against Pirates is on par with the much-vaunted Soweto derby.
"The motivation with games against Sundowns in the past was that everybody wanted to beat the rich club.
"From long back Sundowns have been seen as that club with money. When Zola Mahobe was the owner it was 'look at this rich club'."