Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro may have to deal with favouritism accusations when the new season begins after revelations in the club's own documentary.
Riveiro has been able to thwart criticism of himself largely thanks to appeasing the supporters with trophies, after back-to-back cup doubles since he was appointed in June 2023.
The Spanish mentor was under heavy criticism early in the past season after the Soweto giants were knocked out of the CAF Champions League in the preliminary stages and were being left behind rivals Mamelodi Sundowns in the DStv Premiership title race.
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There were divisions on whether Riveiro should stay longer at the Buccaneers towards the end of the season but the Vigo native won the hearts of the supporters again after edging Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup final.
However, the issue of favouritism could follow the club into the new season, after revelations in the Bucs camp documentary series titled 'The changeroom' where players openly admitted that former star forward Thembinkosi Lorch had a well-known conflict with Deon Hotto which affected the team before he was sold to The Brazilians.
According to Pirates players, Lorch had his own group at the club that were in conflict with Hotto because he was getting more minutes, an issue which was out of hand while the Bafana Bafana forward was at the club.
Hotto, the centre of the whole controversy, has given his side of the story, as he explained that the whole squabble between him and Lorch started when Riveiro was playing him virtually in every position and in every game.
"The coach [Riveiro] was playing me in different positions and for me, I wasn't selecting myself to be in the team. If the coach asked me to play centre-back, I will ask him, 'Why am I playing centre-back today coach, is there a problem?'" Hotto explained.
"[The coach would say] 'Ah, no, maybe Xoki is not feeling well today, so we need you there'. [I'll say] 'Alright coach, I'll try my level best. I will play. So the conflict came when the coach was playing me as a striker, right wing, left-back, left-wing. So I heard among the guys that the guys are complaining, 'Why is Hotto not getting substituted? Why is Hotto playing all the games?'.
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"When I came, everything was going my way, I was scoring, assisting, I was doing everything, so most of the stuff started there. We never solved the issue [with Lorch], the issue still continued up until I went to the national team and when I came back he left [to join Sundowns], so ja," the Namibian added.
Hotto will now be facing scrutiny by supporters and any other player who may be playing ahead of a particular fan favourite at Pirates, a dynamic that as the documentary revealed, can divide and disrupt the team.