Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has slammed the “unprofessional attitude” of rising Orlando Pirates star Mbekezeli Mbokazi, after the 20-year-old arrived late to camp ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations.

South Africa are currently holding an intensive pre-tournament camp at the High-Performance Centre in Pretoria as they fine-tune tactics, sharpen combinations and build momentum before departing for Morocco next week.

Bafana face Ghana in a warm-up friendly on Tuesday, their final test before heading north the following day.

All selected players were expected to report for duty earlier this week, but Mbokazi – fresh off captaining Pirates to the Carling Knockout Cup following their fourth consecutive MTN8 title – only arrived on Wednesday after missing his flight from Durban.

READ: Bafana to face Ghana in final Afcon warm-up

Broos did not hide his frustration.

“Mbokazi just arrived – or will arrive in 15 minutes,” Broos told the media on Wednesday. “I didn’t want to talk about it, but you asked, and you have the right to know that I’m not pleased. Pirates informed me that he missed his flight yesterday. The coach there was very angry and called it, in his words, ‘an unprofessional attitude’.”

However, the club subsequently seemingly backtracked but Broos was having none of it, saying the explanations provided by Pirates “were nonsense”.

“It is worse that the club protects the player.”

He added that this type of behaviour undermines the standards required at international level.

“This is South Africa, and this is very bad – very, very bad,” he said. “When you’re a 19-year-old getting called up for Afcon and World Cup qualifiers, and the coach gives you a few days off, someone with the right attitude arrives early, not late.

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“I will have a chat with him. Suddenly Mboki thinks he is a star – this is the attitude of a star: ‘I’ll decide when I come.’ I’m very angry about it.”

“I will have a chat with him after training. He is a black guy, but when he comes out of my room, he will be white (with fear).”

Mbokazi’s rise has been rapid. Since making his senior debut for Pirates in March 2025, he has become a key figure for the Soweto giants, lifting two trophies and securing a move to Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire.

Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images