The likelihood of Vincent Tseka being fired from his Bafana Bafana team manager job after Fifa deducted points from the team for fielding suspended Teboho Mokoena is “very slim”.
Tseka was largely blamed for failing to flag that Mokoena had accumulated two yellow cards, which meant he was not supposed to play in the 2-0 victory against Lesotho in the 2026 World Cup qualifier in March.
Mokoena was cautioned against Benin in November 2023 and picked up another yellow card when Bafana played Zimbabwe in June 2024, making the midfielder ineligible to feature against Lesotho.
On Monday Fifa docked three points from Bafana, reducing their group C lead to 14, dealing a devastating dent to South Africa’s aspiration to qualify for the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the US.
With the match forfeited by a score of 3-0, Benin now lead the group by goal difference. Bafana must win their final fixtures against Zimbabwe in Durban and Rwanda by a glut of goals to secure automatic qualification.
Despite the monumental mess which has seen an outcry by outraged South Africans demanding that Tseka be fired for dropping the ball, a Safa national executive committee member yesterday told the Sunday Times that the beleaguered manager was going to stay in place.
“Vincent is going nowhere. Whatever sanction they come up with they will not fire him. His contract is linked to Hugo’s (Broos). He’s going to Afcon and the World Cup,” said the NEC member who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Vincent is going nowhere. Whatever sanction they come up with they will not fire him. His contract is linked to Hugo’s (Broos). He’s going to Afcon and the World Cup.
“A lot of people have attached Vincent to Danny [Safa president Jordaan], but it’s Hugo who doesn’t like change in his set-up. The driver of the bus is the same. That man does not like disruptions on the people he works with, that’s why he adopted the stance of collective responsibility.”
On Thursday Bafana boss Hugo Broos shielded Tseka when he announced his squad for the Zim and Rwanda matches, suggesting it was not fair for Tseka to single him for sole responsibility.
“Well, it’s clear I’m responsible, I’m the coach. I have to know that this guy had... yellow cards. My technical staff is responsible because they didn’t tell me ‘hey, hey Teboho has two yellow cards’, the manager is responsible that he didn’t have the follow up. The player is responsible because he didn’t tell us anything. The administration of Safa is responsible. So now everybody knows who is responsible,” said Broos.
“So stop with it. Just focus on the two games that are coming now and support us like you did already the months before and we will see where we arrive. But we will do everything, everything 100% to win those two games. And again for me it’s an extra motivation. And I will try to put that in my players’ heads also that in those two games we will never see a team of South Africa that you will see in those two games.”
In a defiant statement Safa, whose officials, unlike Broos, avoided any shred of accountability, said they would appeal the sanction. But Raymond Hack says the body has no hope in hell of winning the appeal.
“They’ve got no chance. As long as you and I are alive that rule will not change. The minute you change that ruling you open yourself for worldwide abuse,” said Hack, who serves on the Caf and Fifa disciplinary structures.
“Can you imagine if Fifa turned around and said, ‘oohhh poor South Africa, let’s do something special for you’. You are then setting a worldwide precedent and everybody can turn around and want the same thing.
“You can never benefit from an illegal situation because it is illegal to play after two yellow cards. You can plead in mitigation after you accepted the decision.
“They are asking for reasons why the decision was taken, that is the most ridiculous thing I have heard. They are not doing the country justice. You can’t change the past. You can’t focus on challenging reasons why you are punished for what you know you did wrong.
“Why it happened I don’t know. Was he eligible to play, the answer is no. He had two yellow cards. Simple. What more do they want?”
Safa CEO Lydia Monyepao had not responded by the time of going to press when asked whether they had lodged an appeal.
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