South Africa Lodge Complaint With FIFA Against Referee Of Ghana Game In World Cup Qualifiers

South Africa have lodged a complaint with FIFA against Senegalese referee Maguette Ndiaye over his performance during 1-0 loss to South Africa in the sixth round of the 2021 World Cup qualifiers on Sunday in Cape Coast, the South Africa Football Association announced.

Bafana Bafana’s 1-0 loss to Ghana gave the Black Stars a ticket to playoff round of African World Cup qualifiers as both teams ended the campaign with 13 points and hosts went through on goal difference.

The match witnessed hugely controversial refereeing decisions, with Ghana being awarded a controversial penalty by referee Ndiaye who adjudged Rushine De Reuck to have fouled Daniel Amartey in the box.

Television replays showed that the Ghanaian player divided in the 31^st minute of the game with dubious penalty being converted by Andre Ayew.

If South Africa had pulled a draw of any margin, they would have topped the Group G with a goal difference of one.

Now SAFA Chief Executive Officer, Tebogo Motlanthe has confirmed that the incident was immediately reported to the match commissioner.

“Yes, I can confirm that we acted immediately by registering [a complaint] with the match commissioner last night,” Motlanthe was quoted by South African publication, Kickoff.com.

“The penalty issue, from where I was seated, it didn’t look legit. It is sad that referees decide the games at this level.

“Having seen what the team went through it is disheartening and we salute the Technical Team and the players for showing the fighting spirit despite the match officials’ conduct.”