Deon Hotto praised for touching act of sportsmanship in CAFCL triumph

Deon Hotto (33) has earned rave reviews for his consistent performance and professionalism at Orlando Pirates.

The utility livewire was one of the scorers as the South African side swept to a 3-0 home victory over Ivorian club Stade d’Abidjan in their CAF Champions League (CAFCL) clash on Saturday.

The win helped Pirates move to the top of Group C on eight points from four matches, one more point than holders Al Ahly of Egypt and closer to a quarter-final berth.

Along with Hotto, his teammates Patrick Maswanganyi and Kabelo Dlamini made the Sofascore’s CAFCL team of the week following their impressive display.

But it was Hotto who stole the headlines with an act of kindness towards the end of Saturday’s match.

With the Buccaneers in a good scoring opportunity for a fourth goal, the Namibian kicked the ball out when an opposition player was injured instead of continuing play.

This gesture was appreciated by visiting coach and Pirates gaffer Jose Riveiro, with the latter saying it speaks volumes about the kind of person and competitor Hotto is.

“I think the game belongs to the players and if Hotto in that particular moment decided that we have to stop the game, then we stop it and that’s it,” Riveiro said in a video posted on Goal South Africa.

“Maybe sometimes you feel the temptation to, because you are in the box there’s an action that can have a different continuity, but it’s something to appreciate.

“I’m not going to discover the the type of human that Deon is to anybody.”

One of the most consistent players in South African football for over a decade, Hotto has endeared himself to fans and coaches alike through hard work and discipline on and off the field of play.

It is this demeanour that make him the consummate professional, says Riveiro.

Hotto has established himself as an important figure in the squad and one of Riveiro’s trusted allies, with 22 appearances so far this season, including four goals and as many assists. The ever-present hardworking player has only missed one match this campaign.

“Everybody knows Deon Hotto very well in this country and more proof that he’s a fair player with his mates and with the opponents as well and it’s always in a competitive environment like ours that sometimes we use big words, big sentences,” Riveiro said of Hotto’s temperament.

“It seems that we’re talking about war sometimes more than sport. It’s nice to see some situations like this because in the end they are football players, they understand each other, and yeah, I think it was humane behaviour from Deon.”

When asked about the gesture, Hotto said it was a no-brainer.

“It’s all about sportsmanship and fair play. I just felt like I need to play the ball out because there’s someone down in the box and I’m the one who took the shot [which caused the opponent to fall to the ground]. I felt sympathy for him, so I had to play the ball out,” said Hotto, who last year launched the Deon Hotto Foundation aimed at enhancing livelihoods of Namibian communities and improve the quality of sport in Namibia.

Today, Pirates and Hotto have a South African Premiership clash to navigate against Cape Town City, where two of Hotto’s compatriots, Prins Tjiueza and Aprocious Petrus, have been prominent figures in the team’s upturn in fortunes.

After beating Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 on Sunday, another win could move the Citizens up to fourth on the table, depending on the results of the teams above them.

The Buccaneers are guaranteed a top spot on the table if they manage to collect maximum points.

“It’s all about us trying to make our fans happy at the end of the day. We want to collect as many points as we can and just to remain humble and focus on the next encounter that’s it,” Hotto said.