Bafana Bafana are no longer in control of their World Cup destiny after Fifa finally acted on the Teboho Mokoena saga, deducting three points, which dropped the team into second place in their group behind Benin.
We had warned of this inevitability months ago, but the SA Football Association, notorious for misgovernance, did nothing while we waited for Fifa’s ruling.
Safa, reacting to this punishment, released a hopeful statement berating Fifa and saying there will be an appeal.
This is mere posturing by Safa, because what would really be the basis of an appeal? Bafana should not have fielded Mokoena, a suspended player, in that clash with Lesotho in March. Safa must show us a team who’ve successfully appealed against being found guilty of such an offence.
The appeal will be dismissed with costs, adding even more financial burden to Safa’s empty coffers, which have also bled a R215,000 fine due to the Mokoena debacle. We call on Safa to stop misleading the nation, accept the punishment and move on. But we don’t mean they should sweep the matter under the carpet.
The culprit, widely identified as team manager Vincent Tseka, should be hauled over the coals for this embarrassing gaffe. It can’t be business as usual. Tseka, or whoever is responsible for checking basics such as yellow cards at Bafana, should be moved far away from the team.
Safa has long promised action on the matter and the time is now. There’s no place to hide. We have lost the points and someone should, unfortunately, lose their job for this gross incompetence.
While we welcome minister of sports, art & culture Gayton McKenzie’s promise of a thorough investigation, we are not that hopeful because McKenzie has long demonstrated that he’s not a man of his word. He thinks everything is a popularity contest. Bafana losing three points, which they had worked so hard for, is no laughing matter. It should be treated as a national emergency.
Thankfully, despite all this ineptitude, we are confident our team will win this month’s fixtures against Zimbabwe and Rwanda and eventually book a place among the teams going to next year’s World Cup in North America.
It’s no less than what Bafana deserve for their exploits under Hugo Broos in the last four years, despite being surrounded by a spineless, blundering leadership that has overstayed its welcome.
SowetanLIVE
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