Mokwena denies Sundowns tactical leak claims

MC Alger coach Rulani Mokwena has moved to clear the air ahead of a highly-anticipated showdown with his former club Mamelodi Sundowns, as the CAF Champions League group stage reaches its decisive phase.

The build-up to the encounter has been overshadowed by allegations that Mokwena received tactical information from suspended Sundowns performance analyst Mario Masha.

Sundowns will host MC Alger at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon, knowing a quarter-final place in the Champions League is on the line.

The South African champions must secure all three points to guarantee qualification for the knockout rounds. Anything less than a victory would result in a shock group-stage exit.

Returning to familiar surroundings, Mokwena rejected the accusations of misconduct while addressing the media during his pre-match press conference on Friday.

“Reputation is built over years of conduct and not through anonymous screenshots. Let me state this clearly, Mario has not given me any tactical or confidential information about Sundowns,” Mokwena said.

“The conversations referenced, were professional football discussions and some were personal relating to his UEFA Licenses which he asked me to help him share through different methodologies.

“Previous work done together at Sundowns and different tactical work that includes European examples such as those from Manchester City. At no point were current (Sundowns) tactical plans or confidential material shared with me.”

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MC Alger head into the fixture second in Group C on seven points, one ahead of Sundowns, while Al-Hilal lead the group by a single point with one round of matches remaining.