The former Amakhosi midfielder maintains South Africa will still lose to the Black Stars if they win their case and Fifa orders a replay
Former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Junior Khanye has claimed Bafana Bafana will still lose to Ghana even if Fifa orders for the replay of their controversial 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifying match.
The final Group G fixture at Cape Coast Sports Stadium saw South Africa suffer a 1-0 defeat courtesy of a controversial penalty converted by Andre Ayew in the 33rd minute and in the process Bafana missed out on the play-offs.
Safa, however, lodged a complaint with Fifa citing that match referee Maguette Ndiaye, from Senegal, was allegedly not fair in the way he handled the match.
However, Khanye has insisted even if Fifa ordered for the replay of the fixture, there is no way Bafana are going to succeed against the Black Stars.
Why Ghana would win
“If the match was ordered by Fifa to be replayed, I think Ghana would win it again, by more goals this time around,” Khanye said as quoted by iDiski Times.
“I don’t know if Hugo Broos thinks he is trying to prove a point by omitting players who deserve to play in the national team. You cannot tell me that Andile Jali and Lyle Lakay are not good enough to play for the national team.
“If we have the same approach, I think Ghana will defeat Bafana Bafana again in a replay situation. They had more threatening chances in the game we played.
“Players like Nyiko Mobbie struggled to keep up with the Ghanaian attack. De Reuck and Siyanda Xulu were in sixes and sevens as a centre-back pairing, it just did not work out for them, they were lucky not to concede more goals.
“I felt that the selection of players by Hugo Broos was off the mark, especially considering that many of the players he picked were inexperienced and their lack of big-match experience showed in that game.”
‘The referee made some mistakes’
Khanye also admitted he was surprised to see a West African-based referee officiate a match of a neighbouring country.
“A lot was said about the Senegalese referee Maguette N’diaye, some South Africans were questioning the use of a West African referee in a fixture that involves a West African team,” Khanye continued.
“Overall, I think the referee made some mistakes in the game, but I think a lot of people are exaggerating how bad he was. He made a mistake by awarding the corner that led to a penalty.
Read also: The penalty was a bit soft– Ghana legend Asamoah Gyan wades into penalty controversy
“It was clearly not a corner. With regard to the penalty he gave against Rushine De Reuck, it was a very soft penalty. I do not agree that it should have been awarded.
“The difficulty is that De Reuck had his hands on the Ghanaian player and the referee was too happy to blow his whistle in that instance. I don’t know if the penalty will be enough to convince Fifa to order the replay.
“Safa will need to show evidence that the referee was involved in match-fixing. In football the referee’s decision is final, so I don’t see how the game can be replayed.”
SOURCE: GOAL
