Who will be held accountable if Bafana Bafana don’t qualify for the World Cup?
The South African Football Association (Safa) faces scrutiny for potential accountability issues if Bafana Bafana fails to qualify for the World Cup due to the administrative error that led to fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, in a crucial qualifier match. Picture: BackpagePix
Image: BackpagePix
It’s an uncomfortable question, but a necessary one - who will be held accountable if Bafana Bafana do not qualify for the Fifa World Cup, due in large part to an administrative oversight?
If Bafana do go on to win their final two Caf Fifa World Cup qualifier matches against Zimbabwe (Friday) and Rwanda (Tuesday) and other results go their way, they can still finish top of group C and punch their ticket to the showpiece event next year.
If that happens, there’s every chance that the debacle of fielding the ineligible Teboho Mokoena for a qualifier match against Lesotho in March will be swept aside.
The SA Football Association (Safa) said it would appeal the Fifa decision to dock Bafana three points as their 2-0 win over Lesotho was converted to a 3-0 loss. That move of Safa to immediately put out a statement saying they would appeal the decision, as they also attempted to discredit the process the world governing body took, was a shameless attempt to deflect from their own mistakes.
Safa’s Lack of Accountability in Mokoena’s World Cup Qualifier Participation
In a 279-word statement released by Safa last month, nowhere does Safa accept responsibility for Bafana fielding Mokoena during the World Cup qualifier in question. Mokoena had picked up a one-match suspension ahead of the Lesotho match but still went ahead and played in the clash.
As IOL Sport soccer writer, Smiso Msomi puts it perfectly: “The Mokoena blunder is not just an unfortunate oversight; it is a symptom of systemic negligence.”
How can it be that no one from Safa checked such a basic thing like player eligibility or suspensions ahead of a World Cup qualifier?
Obviously every South African wants Bafana to qualify for the World Cup, but if they don’t, there’s perhaps a very small chance that someone at Safa will take accountability for a situation that should never have been allowed.
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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