Maswanganyi says Jomo Sono’s criticism did not affect him but social media backlash hurt his family

Former Orlando Pirates winger Patrick Maswanganyi says Jomo Sono’s “ant versus elephant” comparison did not influence him personally, but criticism on social media left his family so distressed that they considered asking him to stop playing football.

Maswanganyi, 28, left the Buccaneers at the beginning of the season and revealed that he had moved out of the country after supporters’ online comments began affecting his family.

Sono, a Pirates legend, was among those whose remarks attracted attention. However, Maswanganyi told iDiski Times that criticism aimed directly at him was not the reason he decided to leave.

“I would say no,” Tito said when asked whether Sono’s comments had affected him.

“I think I’ve gotten bad comments a lot from the start of my debut for Orlando Pirates, but those comments were never things that affected me.”

Maswanganyi said he had learned to deal with criticism throughout his time at the club and would have remained there if the reaction had been limited to him.

“I would say when my family got involved, it was something whereby I couldn’t feel ok also. But if it was only about me, I was still at Pirates – even today, playing and working.”

He explained that the impact on his relatives became increasingly difficult as the criticism continued, with some family members reluctant for him even to attend training or return to Orlando Pirates.

“But my family was very hurt about the comments, they didn’t even want me to go to training sometimes or go back to Orlando Pirates. They’ve always felt, even if you don’t play and you quit it would be better because no one would say anything about you.”

Maswanganyi said he tried to reassure them that harsh opinions were part of professional football and did not necessarily come from people wishing him harm.

“But I’ve always tried to explain to them ‘in football these things can happen, these people don’t mean harm, they just want me to be better’. But with them, it didn’t sit well with them, because it kept on happening and happening.”

The former winger said the experience had also made him consider the effect such scrutiny could have on children and families connected to footballers.

“Even yourself, if you have kids you wouldn’t want them to be in a situation that I was at Orlando Pirates.”