FIFA rejected SAFA’s petition on procedural grounds
SAFA wanted a lifetime ban on referee Maguette Ndiaye
The ruling from FIFA is subject to an appeal
The Federation of the International Football Association has provided a detailed clarification on their decision to dismiss the petition filed by the South African Football Association against Ghana.
FIFA rejected the petition on the basis that the protest lodged by South Africa failed to meet some of the conditions for filing such cases. FIFA thereby declaring Ghana as the legitimate winner of the tie.
SAFA CEO, Tebogo Motlanthe after the ruling stated that they are waiting for the detailed ruling before they can appeal the decision at the court of Arbitration for Sports.
FIFA has responded to the request of SAFA as they clarified that the South African’s failed to meet three procedural requirements in their protest which includes the following;
(i) no written protest was submitted to the match commissioner, (ii) the Protest was not lodged in a timely manner, and (iii) no protest fee had been paid.
South Africa has meanwhile said that they are weighing their options on whether they still want to pursue their case at the Court of Arbitration for Sports.
SAFA CEO Tebogo Motlanthe said: “It was a complaint and not a protest and that’s why we took the matter to the DC and not other FIFA channels.
“They did not even read the merits of our technical report argument. You cannot protest over a referee’s decision.
It was a complaint against the conduct of the referee and we believe the referee manipulated the outcome of the game. We will look at the situation and let the public know of our final decision,” he added.