Andrew Sparkes, goalkeeper coach of Orlando Pirates before the Absa Premiership 2018/19 game between Black Leopards and Orlando Pirates at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane the on 28 August 2018 © Kabelo Leputu/BackpagePix
Former Orlando Pirates coach sparks Jose Mourinho’s ire
Ex-Orlando Pirates goalkeeper coach Andrew Sparkes was involved in a bust-up with Jose Mourinho.
Andrew Sparkes, goalkeeper coach of Orlando Pirates before the Absa Premiership 2018/19 game between Black Leopards and Orlando Pirates at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane the on 28 August 2018 © Kabelo Leputu/BackpagePix
Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho had a choice word or two for Southampton goalkeeper coach Andrew Sparkes when the two sides met at St Mary’s on Wednesday.
The London club suffered a 1-0 defeat in a match which featured a heated exchange between the Portuguese mentor and the former Orlando Pirates coach.
Mourinho in bust-up with ex-Pirates coach
The altercation resulted in Mourinho getting cautioned for his part, after walking over to the hosts’ technical area to confront Sparkes.
Explaining the yellow card after the game, the former Manchester United manager did not mince his words, going as far as calling the 34-year-old an “idiot”.
“I think the yellow card is fair because I was rude, but I was rude to an idiot,” Mourinho said.
“For some reason, I was rude. But I was, and because I was rude, I deserve the yellow card. Basically, I had bad words with the guy.”
Jose Mourinho
It was not only Sparkes who met Mourinho’s ire, as he went on to blast the video assistant referee (VAR), suggesting a name-change for the officials.
“In this moment the referees are not the referees. I think the VAR should change their name because ‘video assistant referee’, that’s not true.
“It should be VR, video referees because they are the referees, they are the assistant. It is strange because you see the referees on the pitch and they are not the referees. They are the assistant referees.
“The other guys in [Stockley Park], they are the ones that make the big decisions in the game.”
Jose Mourinho
Andrew Sparkes Orlando Pirates connection
Sparkes spent a season at Orlando Pirates, working in a technical team headed by Serb mentor Milutin Sredojevic.
He arrived at the club in July 2018, following stints with Swansea youth sides and the Sierra Leone national team.
Sparkes left the Soweto giants in June 2019 after being involved in 44 games, and was soon appointed Southampton goalkeeper coach.
Other clubs the Welshman has worked with include Major League Soccer outfit, New York Red Bulls, as well as Red Bull Salzburg in Germany.
