South Africa FA has hit back, saying that the statement released by Ghana Football Association regarding match-fixing allegations is “unfortunate and distasteful.”
In a long statement issued by GFA this Wednesday afternoon, the group denied claims that they robbed South Africa and reports by South Africa media that it took Bafana Bafana nine hours to travel from Accra to Cape Coast for the match.
GFA also advised South Africa FA to stop propagating lies to damage the name of Black Stars because they won the 2022 World Cup qualifiers fair and square.
In response to the GFA declaration, SAFA CEO Tebogo Motlanthe said that the organization would not like to get involved in a battle between its Ghanaian counterpart.
“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.”
Ghana defeated South Africa 1-0 to advance into the next stage of qualifying matches, but South Africa aren’t satisfied with the outcome and claim match officials were responsible for having the final say in the match.
FIFA has been notified of protests from South Africa FA and are prepared to hear the matter.