Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos, has explained why he did not consider talented midfielder Jayden Adams for the upcoming AFCON qualifiers.
The 23-year-old was omitted from the squad that faced Congo-Brazzaville in October due to discipline issues.
He failed to report to camp and reportedly ignored phone calls from the South African Football Association when trying to reach him.
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During the announcement of the squad to face Uganda and South Sudan next week, Broos addressed the situation regarding Adams.
"I believe that for every player, representing your national team should be an honour, whether you are Belgian, Chinese, or South African. It should mean something to you," said the Belgian.
"If you don't feel that way, then I'm sorry, but you lack the right mentality. When I was a player and got called up to the national team, even if I had to run 100 kilometres to be there, I would do it because it was an honour for me."
Broos added, "If a young player like Jayden contacts you to say that he wants to arrive late for personal reasons, I'm sorry, but that is not the right mentality. At 23 years old, you need to make the effort to be here. I have imposed a bit of a punishment on him, but this punishment won't last forever."
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He emphasized that every player in South Africa must understand that joining the national team is a privilege.
"It's a job, not a holiday," he stated.
Broos also noted that this issue is not unique to South Africa, recalling similar problems he encountered with players from Cameroon at the beginning of his tenure there.
"Players in Cameroon would visit their families before reporting to the national team camp. When you asked them about it, they would say, 'Coach, I haven't seen my family in two months'."