Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy has apologised for his senseless behaviour towards Ajax defender Isaac Nhlapo during his sides victory over the Urban Warriors.

The Citizens mentor made his way on to the pitch and lashed out at Isaac Nhlapo for his tackle on substitute Teko Modise close to the technical area.

The 39-year-old admits that his reaction towards Nhlapo’s tackle was unprofessional, but he insists that he got caught up in the heat of the moment.

‘There were a couple of nasty incidents where I think I also overreacted a bit. But I’m one of those guys, I always say a team is a reflection of its manager. I’m a passionate guy from Cape Town, and if people want to bully my players, I’m the first one to stand up for them,’ McCarthy told reporters after the game.

‘That was one of the situations where, as a coach, you’ve got to deal with it a little bit better, but it just shows the passion that I have for my players and for the team.

‘It was just the emotions of the game, sometimes it happens. I was concerned, as we had worked so hard to get Teko back, and we know he is agile and has trickery, so for players to come in and think they can use his as a kicking bag, I took it a very badly,’ he added.

‘In the heat of the moment it happens, but I should have been the better person in that incident.

‘But I was just concerned about my player, as he had just come back from injury and I know how hard he had worked to get back on the pitch, and for someone to just snap at him out of anger, and risk him not playing in the upcoming MTN8 final would mean I would be stuck with a problem of losing a key player, so that is why I reacted the way I did,’ McCarthy concluded.

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