Mama Joy, who is also a Bafana Bafana superfan, questioned the real motive behind the planned protest by the Bucs fans
Prominent Orlando Pirates supporter Joyce Chauke has backed under-fire coach Josef Zinnbauer ahead of the team’s clash with Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) on Saturday.
A victory for the Buccaneers will see them finish the current campaign on position three on the PSL standings and qualify for next season’s Caf Confederation Cup.
Zinnbauer has been under heavy scrutiny in recent months with some Pirates fans calling for his dismissal, but Chauke has pledged her support for the German tactician, who guided Bucs to their first major trophy since 2014 when he led the team to the 2020 MTN8 triumph.
“I think the team has done well. And to finish the league in the top four plus winning the MTN8 Cup is very good. I wish them the best for their last game of the season against TTM,” Chauke told City Press.
Some Pirates supporters are expected to march to the club’s home ground, Orlando Stadium, as they display their unhappiness with the team and also calling for Zinnbauer’s dismissal.
However, Chauke, who traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to rally behind South Africa’s under-23 national team at the 2016 Olympic Games, distanced herself from the planned march arranged by her fellow Pirates fans.
“I’ve been hearing a lot of things about this strike. A lot of people I know aren’t going there just like me. I really don’t understand why people are going there,” she continued.
“It’s game day and the team will be focusing on the match. Who are they going to there? If there are Pirates fans who are not happy with the management or anything they should go to the team’s offices.”
Popularly known as Mama Joy, Chauke feels that it doesn’t make sense for the fans to urge the club’s management to fire Zinnbauer.
“I mean, it’s not up to the fans to get the coach fired, it’s all up to the chairman and the management. If they don’t want to fire him then he will continue as Pirates coach,” she added.
“Another thing I’m asking myself is if it will be safe and there won’t be people who end up getting hurt. Then comes Covid-19, we are facing the third wave now.
“And personally as someone who survived it [Coronavirus]], I don’t think it’s wise to go out there. I will be sitting here at home supporting the club.”
Last month, Kaizer Chiefs fans marched to the club’s headquarters in Naturena to hand a memorandum to the management expressing their dissatisfaction with the team’s poor performance in the PSL this term.
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