South African football authorities are considering appealing a ruling by FIFA, ordering a replay of the country’s World Cup qualifier against Senegal.
FIFA orders the game played in November 2016 to be replayed, citing “manipulation” by the referee.
The referee who took charge of that game – Ghanaian Joseph Lamptey – was accused of awarding the Bafana Bafana a dubious penalty, and has since been banned for life.
Neither South Africa nor Senegal is accused of any wrongdoing.
“We’re grappling for answers and asking Fifa for them before we decide whether to take the matter forward,” BBC news agency quotes South African FA lawyer Norman Arendse to say.
“Safa cannot accept (the game was manipulated) because we have got absolutely no details of the alleged manipulation, what the nature of it was and what it all involved,” he added.
South Africa currently holds last place in the Group D table, meaning their quest to qualify for the Russia showdown is an uphill task. They however have a chance to do so, but would have to register victories in their two remaining games against Burkina Faso and Senegal.
Burkina Faso tops the group with six points with two games to go, Cape Verde comes second with six points too, but with an inferior goal difference.
The next round of qualification matches will be played in October.
No African team has qualified for the World Cup yet, but that is expected to change after the October games.
Some teams from outside the continent have however already booked their spots in the 2018 Russian showdown, including hosts Russia, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico, Japan and Iran.
