SAFA wanted a lifetime ban on referee Maguette Ndiaye
The ruling from FIFA is subject to an appeal
The litigation between the South African Football Association (SAFA) and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) following Ghana’s victory over the Bafana Bafana in the World Cup qualifiers does not seem to be ending soon even with a decision from FIFA.
SAFA after the Black Stars defeated the Bafana Bafana by a lone goal through a 34th-minute penalty by captain Andre Dede Ayew refused to accept defeat as they claim the game was fixed.
It took captain Andre Dede Ayew to win the game for Ghana after scoring from the spot after referee Moguetta Ndiaye awarded a penalty to the Black Stars following the foul on Daniel Amartey in the 32nd minute.
Allegations from SAFA and petition to FIFA:
SAFA petitioned FIFA to investigate their game against Ghana as they cited bad officiating from referee Moguetta Ndiaye, match-fixing, and intimidations from the host team.
They went on to say that Ghana needed to win the game to solve socio-economic problems in the country.
On a possible match-fixing, SAFA boss Danny Jordan said “when you know you will get a penalty in the 10th minute, there is a betting spike just before the penalty is given and if that happens and the penalty coincides with the decision then you will know that there is a possibility of cheating. Because how is it that there is a betting spike just before there is a major decision taken? Because they knew when to bet and the time to stake that bet.”
He added that"We made it clear. Our position is not about the penalty; our position is about the performance of the referee in the entire match. So again, we must not divert that we are raising the issue of the penalty. We are raising the issue of the performance of the referee. That is the issue. So, this is neither here nor there at the moment in the context of our protest to FIFA," he said.
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Bafana Bafana captain, Ronwen Williams also told the media at a press conference that the ball boys at the stadium also intimidated them.
“The balls were very loose but we didn’t want to complain because it will be time-wasting. “You could see the ball boys were running and looking for balls and I think the referee should have stamped his authority.”
FIFA’s response to the petition from SAFA: FIFA responded that they have received the petition and gave Ghana a deadline of November 20, 2021, to respond to the allegations made by SAFA.
"FIFA has received a complaint from the South African FA in relation to this matter and will review it. Please understand we cannot comment further at this stage,” FIFA in a statement in response to a query from Graphic Online.
GFA’s reaction to allegations by SAFA
The GFA has responded to these claims by asking SAFA to be 'honest' with their people and 'accept defeat in good faith as this will not be the last time they will lose a game to the Black Stars in Ghana.
"As a good sporting Association, we know that Bafana Bafana gave it their all but lost to a better team (and must be forthright to tell the South African public this). We wish Bafana Bafana and our colleagues at SAFA better luck next time.”
"The GFA call on the SAFA to responsibly accept defeat & show respect to the Black Stars achievement on the field, for this is not the first time Ghana has defeated South Africa & this will not be the last time. In fact, every South African knows the pedigree of the Black Stars," part of Ghana FA statement on Thursday read.
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Counter statements from SAFA CEO:
South Africa FA has hit back, saying the statement issued by Ghana Football Association regarding match-fixing allegations is “unfortunate and distasteful”.
“The Safa position has never been nine hours. The coach said it was three hours, plus two hours which we can’t blame Ghana for — it is their immigration rules,” Motlanthe said.
“But we are also saying let’s let the FIFA process take place, and we will respect the decision. We find the GFA’s statement unfortunate and distasteful because it is full of inaccuracies. We did not submit any complaint to the Ghana FA about our treatment in Ghana.”
FIFA ruling has delayed- Danny Jordan
SAFA boss Danny Jordaan on Monday, November 29, 2021, said that he is not happy with how FIFA was handling the protest they lodged against a World Cup group qualifier.
“Fifa issued a statement saying they would give us a decision on November 23. What is the date today? It is November 28 isn’t it,” Jordaan told the Sunday Times in an interview.
“The question is why have they [Fifa] not even communicated with us? Why?”
FIFA rejects South Africa protest against Ghana
The world governing body on Friday, December 3 rejected SAFA’s petition fort a replay agonist the Black Stars and declared Ghana as the legitimate winner of the tie.
FIFA has rejected the petition on the basis that "the protest lodged by South Africa has been declared inadmissible. “The protest lodged by South Africa has been declared inadmissible by the Disciplinary Committee as it did not meet the requirements foreseen under art. 46 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and art. 14 of the Regulations of the Preliminary Competition of the FIFA World Cup 2022," FIFA said.
We want to know why the petition was rejected - SAFA to FIFA
Twenty-four hours after FIFA publicize its ruling on the petition, SAFA hinted that they will write to FIFA to provide detailed reasons for their decision to reject their petition.
“We have received the decision without details and we will request FIFA for the reasons and consider our options," wrote on SAFA's official website.
Story by Joel Eshun
