Outspoken former footballer Sipho Ndzuzo has criticized the entire administration of SAFA for the blunder involving Teboho Mokoena with the World Cup qualifying campaign now past the halfway stage.
Lesotho have officially filed a protest with FIFA, contesting Mokoena's eligibility in Bafana's recent 2-0 victory over them last Friday. This, after he got cautioned against Benin in November 2023 and then against Zimbabwe last year.
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"No one checked the yellow card status of the players. Mokoena's first yellow card was in 2023 during the first World Cup qualifier, but nobody verified this," an insider from the Bafana camp told KickOff.com.
According to Ndzuzo, such errors cannot be accepted at this level.
"Years ago, we had a similar situation where Bafana Bafana players danced and celebrated as if they had qualified for a competition, all due to administrative mistakes," stated the former Manning Rangers star.
"It stems from the fact that football in South Africa is managed primarily by administrators. This Mokoena issue could have been avoided if competition rules had been made available to the players.
"I'm certain Teboho would have raised the issue with the coaches if he had known the competition's rules.
"Someone must take responsibility," he added.
That said, Ndzuzo points out there should be quality assurance within the organization and that SAFA should not rely on one person for such matters.
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"We can't blame just one individual, this should be a systemic issue. We find ourselves in this predicament because the administrators of our football act as though they are the gods of the game.
"If everything is managed correctly, we won't encounter these problems."