Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso did not hold back in criticising the Buffalo City Stadium’s pitch after a rain-affected 1-1 draw with Chippa United on Saturday, calling it more suitable for wrestling than football.
He also questioned whether the KuGompo City venue was suitable for a topflight football match.
He said he did not understand why Chippa decided to take the game to the 16,000-capacity venue instead of the Kings Park Stadium in Durban, where Chippa had hosted Orlando Pirates last month.
Already in the build-up to the Betway Premiership game, Cardoso had spoken about the Buffalo City pitch, recalling their last visit in 2025, when he described it as “wobbly”.
He was hopeful that it was going to be better after hearing that it had undergone maintenance over the past few months.
“I think people need to think about the purpose, the intention and the direction they want for SA football; that’s the only thing,” Cardoso said.
“There is a country in Africa that is different from other ones,” Morocco.
“Just go there and watch what kind of politics and the direction of the development of the game [has taken]; and how conditions have been created so that the players [can] perform [at a] high level.
“And that is the direction that football has to take in SA because you cannot take one team to play in Durban in a big stadium and take the other to play here.
“There is something behind the policy that needs to be studied to see the level of failure.
“I know in other countries this will not be allowed.
“This is not a football pitch because it is so muddy; it’s better for wrestling.”
Chippa United head coach Brandon Truter, on the other hand, offered a slightly contrasting view to that of Cardoso.
“I have no complaints. The ground staff did a good job considering the amount of rain the Eastern Cape had over the past couple of days.
“The pitch held up. The players should use the right equipment for such conditions to avoid slipping,” he said.
Cardoso had further bemoaned Chippa’s venue change from the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha to the Buffalo City Stadium, saying it disrupted their post-game logistics.
He said it was hard to assess where his team was currently after the Chippa game ahead of their Fifa intercontinental match against Al-Ahli Saudi at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
In the game, Chippa United defender Sirgio Kammies opened the scoring in the 78th minute, just four minutes after he was introduced as a substitute.
Antonio van Wyk scored in the last kick of the match to rescue a point from the jaws of defeat for Downs.