Bizarre report in Morocco claims Motsepe could be influencing Bafana results

A publication in Morocco has questioned Confederation of African Football (Caf) President Patrice Motsepe’s consistent attendance at Bafana Bafana matches at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Ivory Coast.

The website SATV.MA put up a story that implied Motsepe being in the games could have put pressure on match officials to benefit the South African team.

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Bafana have reached the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations and will play Nigeria on Wednesday in Bouake.

Motsepe, a successful South African businessman who was also the chairman at Mamelodi Sundowns, became Caf president in 2021.

Bafana begun their Afcon campaign in Korhogo, then headed to San Pedro for the last-16 clash with Morocco and were recently in Yamoussoukro for the quarterfinals against Cape Verde, with Motsepe present at all the matches.

The article on SATV.MA does appear, at first look, like the musings of a bitter Moroccan journalist, upset that his team were beaten by Bafana in the last 16.

The article claims that the referee Jean-Jacques Ngambo Ndala in the South Africa v Cape Verde match made many mistakes and that did not even consult with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). Interestingly, there are no specifics given here by the writer.

Bafana won the game 2-1 on penalties, after the match ended in goalless.

The publication added that the influence of Motsepe might be to push Bafana into winning the title.

There does seem to be a section of the Moroccan media who go out of their way to be antagonistic towards Motsepe. Ahead of the last 16 game against Bafana, website moroccoworldnews.com said Moroccans were concerned about Motsepe influencing the refereeing in that game.