Still pained by their ouster from the CAF FIFA World Cup qualifiers, South Africa is turning up the heat to ensure they get a replay. Bafana Bafana lost 1-0 to Ghana in Accra. The result ended their pursuit of a place on the plane to Qatar next year.
The South Africans claim foul play and want an investigation that would lead to a replay.
Speaking on the matter, the national team coach Hugo Broos claims that a replay with Ghana is a justified conclusion after the controversial manner the game ended.
All within the South African ranks are singing from the same song sheet and are not letting go until the matter is settled. The target of the South African Football Association (SAFA) angst is the Senegalese referee Maguette N’Diaye. SAFA has lodged an official complaint with FIFA. SAFA believes that N’Diaye displayed a bias towards Ghana in the tie.
The allegations against the officials are part of the protest officially lodged to FIFA. During a press conference, Broos spoke of the experience of the team at the Cape Coast Stadium.
He spoke of their determination to pick the ticket to the playoffs. He left no doubt about their intentions as they set out to get a favourable result.
“We knew that it would be difficult and that we should play a good game to qualify for the next round. I saw that on the players in their behaviour, there was concentration, everything was there to play a good game.
He said that after 15 minutes, he approached the bench and told his two assistants that they should forget it as Ghana would win the game.
“I realize that there are games where you think the ref is against you because you are emotional or nervous, and after the game, you have to be honest with yourself…But after this game, I was more convinced that he had been against us, that we couldn’t win that game, and it was very frustrating.