Safa have accepted Fifa’s ruling to have Bafana Bafana’s World Cup qualifier against Senegal replayed due to match manipulation.
South Africa secured a 2-1 win against Senegal, but were ordered to replay their game after it emerged that referee Joseph Lamptey was guilty of match manipulation.
Lamptey was subsequently banned for life and Safa initially looked to challenge the decision made by Fifa, however, they decided against it after analysing the findings of the world governing body’s report on the encounter.
SAFA has decided on ethical & moral grounds that if this match was manipulated, we should replay it.
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) September 12, 2017
SAFA is however awaiting full briefing from FIFA on reasons of their decision
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) September 12, 2017
In short, FIFA cleared both SA & Senegal of any wrongdoing
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) September 12, 2017
Advocate Norman Arendse revealed that neither Safa nor Senegal were found guilty of any wrongdoing, but he did suggest that Fifa were in the wrong for the process.
‘Neither SAFA nor Senegal were implicated. Due process was not followed by those who arrived at the decision,’ he said at a press conference.
‘There are 2 positions which we could have followed. Integrity of the game or legal route?
‘Our rights to sue for damages remain open.
‘FIFA talks nothing about the match commissioner report which is critical. The referee was appointed by FIFA,’ he concluded.
‘Why didn’t FIFA do an integrity check on the referee since they have these mechanisms?’ he concluded.
Photo: Samuel Shivambu/Backpagepix
-This story originally appeared on SportsClub.co.za