Fifa yet to respond to match-fixing claim after Bafana loss

The SA Football Association’s (Safa) complaint about the performance of Senegalese referee Maguette Ndiaye and his colleagues during Bafana Bafana’s 2022 World Cup qualifier against Ghana on Sunday has been received by Fifa and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

But it seems an investigation into Ndiaye’s shocking display that saw Bafana crash out of the qualifiers for next year’s global showpiece is yet to get under way.  

Safa CEO Tebogo Motlanthe said they received correspondence from Caf on Wednesday morning, but Fifa is yet to respond.    

“We have submitted [the complaint], but we have not yet got anything official from Fifa,” he said. “Only Caf responded [acknowledging receiving the complaint] in the morning [on Wednesday], but from Fifa we are still waiting.”

A list of questions was sent to Fifa regarding a contentious issue that is being debated around the world. The world body responded in a short message on Wednesday and did not go into great detail. It is puzzling that they acknowledged receiving the complaint from Safa, and yet they have not communicated this to the complainants.

“Fifa has received a complaint from Safa in relation to this matter and will review it. Please understand we cannot comment further at this stage,” Fifa said.

Ndiaye awarded a penalty against SA after deciding Rushine de Reuck fouled Daniel Amartey inside the area when there was barely contact between the two players. The ball was floated into the area by Daniel-Kofi Kyereh after a corner kick and as the two sets of players positioned themselves, Amartey suddenly collapsed in apparent agony.

Besides the harsh penalty, the Senegalese officials made several other questionable calls that have prompted Safa to suspect there may have been match fixing involved.

Safa are pushing ahead with attempts to have the match replayed, and for action to be taken against Ndiaye and his colleagues.

Safa asked Fifa and Caf to deal with the matter on an urgent basis and for the match to be replayed in a neutral venue, not in Ghana.

Former Fifa referee Ace Ncobo was asked by Safa to compile an independent report on the match officials’ conduct during the match and he was not impressed by what he saw after poring over the visuals for hours.

“My independent conclusion is that the referee in this match was blatantly biased against SA, 90.9% of incorrect decisions against one team is a clear case of a match official unlawfully influencing and/or manipulating the course and/or the outcome of a match,” he said.

The report has been sent to Fifa and Caf as part of Safa’s complaint about Ndiaye’s conduct.