Former South Africa national team goalkeeper Brian Baloyi has strongly criticized the South African Football Association (SAFA) for their failure to recognize that suspended player Teboho Mokoena should not have played against Lesotho.
He stated that such a mistake is unacceptable.
The likelihood of Bafana Bafana losing the three points they earned from that match is very high.
Baloyi made the following statements regarding the issue:
“If our management can make such schoolboy errors and no-one takes accountability, then it will tell us as a nation that at Safa House we are running a Mickey Mouse organisation.
“If you are running a world-class organisation, then people must be accountable, and heads must roll for such issues.”
Baloyi emphasized that this is a serious issue, as qualifying for the World Cup is the highest honor for both the players and the nation.
“If we are making such errors that cost us points, then what are we saying to the young players we are expecting to be world-class?
“What are we saying to them when we make such errors administratively and no-one is held accountable?”
Despite the possibility of points being deducted, Baloyi stressed that head coach Hugo Broos and the entire team must remain mentally strong. He pointed out that even if South Africa loses points, they will still be leading the group.
“I’m hoping the staff and coaches can get into the boys’ heads and say, ‘Whatever happens, let’s qualify on the field.'”
“We have four games to go, let’s win all of them, and then whatever happens with the Teboho issue is irrelevant.”
“But with that issue, I’m saying someone has to take responsibility at SAFA for this mess.”
Baloyi concluded by stating that South Africa considers itself one of the best footballing nations on the continent and has ambitions to compete at a world-class level.
“We regard ourselves as one of the best nations on the continent, and we want to be world beaters.
“For you to do that, we can’t just expect that of the players — the management has to be world-class as well.”