Gayton Mckenzie says those responsible for Safa blunder will still be held accountable

Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton Mckenzie has warned that Bafana Bafana’s qualification for next year’s Fifa World Cup will not spare those responsible for the Teboho Mokoena error.

South Africa’s World Cup qualifying campaign was rocked when Fifa docked the country three points for fielding Mamelodi Sundowns’ player in the 2–0 win over Lesotho earlier in the campaign when he was supposed to serve a suspension for two yellow cards.

The deduction left Bafana needing a final-day result — which they achieved emphatically by beating Rwanda 3–0 to secure their place at next year’s tournament.

McKenzie, who was present to witness South Africa end a 23-year wait to return to the global showpiece, welcomed the achievement but insisted the mistake must not go unpunished.

“There have been a lot of people that have said I need to deal with what is happening with the leadership of the South African Football Association (Safa). Mckenzie commented on Marawa Sports Worldwide.

“The Boys didn’t just qualify, they did so facing the biggest ever mistake that was done in our country. They had to overcome a double bridge and it was out of their hands.”

Since taking office, McKenzie has kept a tight rein on Safa, setting explicit targets early in his tenure: qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations later this year and the World Cup next year.

“I met with the leadership of Safa.” McKenzie added

“I sat with them and told them I am a new minister, I am responsible for this portfolio, and I am going to ask you for only two things, if you dont deliver on those two things, you will have to resign. You need to qualify for the World Cup and the AFCON.”

Although both objectives were achieved, the issue of accountability remains unresolved. Safa has lodged an appeal over the three-point deduction, but McKenzie says more needs to be done, and they need to withdraw their appeal.

“How do we know if someone was paid to do this. McKenzie continued.

“If we don’t take action, what lessons are we going to learn from what happened. 

“We must understand that a lot was at stake here. All the players in the team have never been at the World Cup and this would have been their one opportunity, and they were close to missing it.

“The coach said I must leave the issue, but I will not leave the issue. We have sent a letter to Fifa and Caf to inform them about our action, then we must investigate. What I am saying is that under my ministry this matter will not be swept under the carpet.

“Whoever is responsible must face the full might of the law, I am going to do what I need to do as a minister.”