The management of the South Africa Football Association ( SAFA) will meet today to discuss the way forward on FIFA’s ruling that South Africa must replay their 2018 World Cup qualifier with Senegal.
Bafana Bafana won the match 2-1 in Polokwane last year, but FIFA ordered a replay for November after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld a lifetime ban of referee Joseph Lamptey for match manipulation.
SAFA previously indicated they will appeal the decision, with association president Danny Jordaan now calling on South Africans to respect the office of Senegalese FIFA general secretary Fatma Samoura as they consider their options.
Jordaan said: “Ever since SAFA received the devastating news from the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Bureau that the Bafana Bafana match played against Senegal must be replayed, we have mulled over what we should do in response to this ruling from FIFA.
“We have considered appealing, writing to FIFA, employing legal counsel and doing a number of other things as a means of reducing the stress of South Africans following this devastating news. One of the immediate measures is that SAFA will convene an Emergency Committee meeting on Monday to discuss the way forward.
“However, during this time of deep reflection, SAFA has observed innuendo that besmirches the personal integrity of the FIFA general secretary that has no basis in fact. We therefore extend this humble appeal to all South Africans, and our compatriots in the football community around the world, to conduct the defense of our right to a fair process with the utmost dignity and also preserve the dignity of the FIFA general secretary whom we hold in high regard as the first African to hold this senior post in our world football governing body.
“We shall do our utmost best to seek all appropriate remedies in this case whilst according the FIFA general secretary the dignity she deserves.”
