Fifa has dismissed the protest by South Africa that called for the replay for the 2022 World Cup qualifier against Ghana that the Bafana Bafana lost last month in Cape Coast.
The world governing body dealt South African the damaging blow on December 3, 2021, when its disciplinary body ruled that the protest lodged is ‘inadmissible’ as it did not meet the basic requirements for filling protests.
This ruling by FIFA means that the Black Stars will have advanced to the playoff stage of Africa’s 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
“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 in a statement.
“The decision is subject to appeal.”
The ruling also did not mention anything about the Senegalese referee Maguatte Ndiaye which means the match official is free from any claims of dubious officiating during the match in Cape Coast.
The decision by FIFA means Ghana finished above South Africa in Group G on goals scored and progressed to Africa’s play-offs next March.
Bafana Bafana needed a draw against the West Africans last month to reach the third and final round of African qualifying, but Ghana won 1-0 thanks to a first-half penalty.
The pivotal moment came when Black Stars midfielder Daniel Amartey went down when South African defender Rushine de Reuck fouled him in the box using both hands.
South Africa protested the decision, claiming the penalty was a ruse which led to the protest against the match official which has now been thrown out by FIFA.
Replays show that the defender used both hands to prevent Amartey from hitting the ball into the net which prompted the decision of the referee which was expertly converted by Andre Ayew.
South Africa believe a precedent was set five years ago when Bafana Bafana were forced to replay a 2018 World Cup qualifier after a referee was found guilty of match manipulation which benefited them.
Bafana Bafana had originally beaten Senegal 2-1, Fifa later concluded that Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey “clearly took two wrong decisions” to facilitate “a minimum number of goals to make certain bets successful”.
The errors included the award of a penalty when Senegal’s Kalidou Koulibaly was adjudged to have handled the ball, despite replays showing it had hit his knee.
Fifa took the unusual step of ordering the game to be replayed. South Africa lost 2-0 as Senegal qualified for the World Cup in Russia.
