President of the Ghana Football Association, Kurt Okraku, has described the Bafana Bafana team that lost 1-0 to Ghana in a 2022 World Cup qualifier last Sunday as the “worst South Africa team in the last five years” and says they “don’t deserve to qualify” for the play-offs.
Okraku has also hit back at his SAFA counterparts for being “disrespectful to a powerful football nation like Ghana” and says the disrespect must end.
SAFA has lodged a complaint to FIFA asking the world football governing body to investigate their 1-0 loss to Ghana in the 2022 World Cup qualifying match on November 14 because they believe the referee manipulated the game.
The complaint to FIFA was followed up with a press conference from SAFA where president Danny Jordaan claimed they had been systematic schemes to cheat the South African team right from when they arrived in Ghana and all throughout the match.
Speaking to the media in Accra on Thursday November 18, 2021, Okraku lambasted the South African FA for disrespecting Ghana.
“This is the worst South African team I have seen in the last five years and they do not deserve to qualify. I am so angry about their attitude and they are so disrespectful about the quality of things we have here in Ghana.
“It is not correct for people to show so much disrespect to a powerful football nation like Ghana and this must not happen again,” he said.
Background
South Africa went into the game at the Cape Coast Stadium with a three point lead and needed to avoid defeat to Ghana to qualify top of Group G and progress to the play-offs.
But Ghana, who needed victory to topple the Bafana Bafana, secured the win through a penalty which Andre Ayew converted.
South Africa protested to the match commissioner after the game and indicated their their intention to complain to CAF and FIFA and subsequently did so, believing the penalty wasn’t a penalty.
The complaint to FIFA was followed up with a press conference from SAFA where president Danny Jordaan claimed they had been systematic schemes to cheat the South African team right from when they arrived in Ghana and all throughout the match.
FIFA confirmed receipt of the SAFA petition and said the matter will be referred to its Disciplinary Committee on November 24 for adjudication and decision.
The GFA has also been asked to send a response to the petition by Nov. 20, 2021.