Online Reporter
Sports Reporter
SAFA say they are disappointed with the FIFA ruling stripping Bafana Bafana of three points for fielding an ineligible player in their 2026 World Cup qualifier against Lesotho in March.
The association also apologised to the nation.
Bafana Bafana have now fallen into second place in the group behind Benin with two games still to be played.
South Africa will play Zimbabwe and Rwanda in their final two matches.
“The Association confirms that we have requested written reasons for the judgment and intend to lodge a formal appeal with the FIFA Appeals Committee within the prescribed 10-day period under FIFA’s disciplinary rules.
“We apologise to the nation for this administrative oversight and will reflect on the steps to take at the conclusion of our qualifying campaign.”
SAFA and Bafana have a history of bungling.
During the 2012 AFCON qualifiers, Bafana Bafana players celebrated in a dance of shame at Mbombela Stadium after mistakenly believing they had qualified for the finals.
Bafana drew their final qualifier against Sierra Leone and thought it was enough to take them through as they had a plus-two goal difference compared to Niger’s minus-two in Group G.
What they failed to read is that the head-to-head tiebreaker would be used first in instances of two countries finishing on the same number of points.
