Benni McCarthy Addresses Fat Shaming Comments, Speaks on Issue With Bobby Motaung
- South African football legend Benni McCarthy has broken his silence concerning the fat-shaming comments levelled against him during his time in England
- The former Bafana Bafana striker, who currently works as the Kenyan men's national team coach, shared his comments on his newly released book
- The former West Ham United forward also opened up on the issue between him and Kaizer Chiefs board member Bobby Motaung
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Bafana Bafana legend Benni McCarthy has finally come out to address the period in his career when a British sports writer publicly body-shamed him during his spell in the English Premier League with West Ham United.
The former Orlando Pirates striker has now released his debut autobiography, Benni, offering an unfiltered account of the triumphs and setbacks that shaped his journey in professional football.
The memoir — which includes a specially penned foreword by former Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho — has officially been published and is currently available in bookstores as well as through online retailers.
After retiring from professional football, he has worked as an assistant manager with Manchester United under the leadership of Erik ten Hag, and he currently manages the Kenyan national team.
McCarthy opens up on body-shaming comments
In his memoir, McCarthy, just like Oswin Appollis, shared his rise from playing so-called “gangster football” in Cape Town’s Cape Flats to starring for major clubs across Europe.
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In 2010, shortly after joining West Ham, he sustained a serious knee ligament injury that would significantly derail his career. Sidelined from matches and training, the striker began to gain weight.
Having consistently maintained a playing weight of around 80kg throughout most of his professional career, McCarthy admitted he soon found himself four to five kilograms heavier and battling to secure a place in a team fighting relegation.
With results deteriorating and McCarthy’s fitness under scrutiny, compounded by repeated fines linked to weight issues, criticism mounted rapidly.
West Ham vice-chairperson and media personality Karren Brady used her column in The Sun to lambast McCarthy's physical condition.
Among her cutting remarks were claims that instead of signing a prolific scorer, the club had brought in someone more focused on “filling his belly than filling the net,” adding that despite later efforts to slim down, he had crossed “the waistline of no return.”
In the book, McCarthy describes the commentary as unnecessarily cruel. When approached for a response, he retaliated with an insult that dominated headlines.
McCarthy on tension with Motaung
McCarthy also addressed the condescending comment made about him by Kaizer Chiefs board member Bobby Motaung after he was being linked with a move back to the Premier Soccer League in 2011, after terminating his contract with the Hammers.
Motaung made a public statement dismissing reports linking McCarthy to the Glamour Boys by claiming that Amakhosi signs “big fish,” not those who “cannot swim anymore.”
McCarthy, in his autobiography, wrote that such comments fuelled his competitive fire, reinforcing his determination to prove doubters wrong; it also motivated him to sign for Chiefs’ rivals, Orlando Pirates.
He would later enjoy notable derby victories over Kaizer Chiefs, taking particular satisfaction in one emphatic win. The Bafana Bafana legend recounts telling Motaung after the match that as long as he wore Pirates colours, Chiefs would not defeat them, a pointed response to the earlier “old fish” remark. Motaung eventually issued an apology.
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Source: Briefly News
