Jordaan delighted by Fifa finding
SA Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan says he is delighted last week's Bafana Bafana game against Spain was played within the stipulated Fifa rules of an ‘A' category international friendly.
Could Danny Jordaan be about to appoint a technical director? Pic: Lee Warren/Gallo Images.
“We expect that the impact of the victory will be reflected in the next December Fifa rankings as the ruling arrived on the date the November ranking were released,” Jordaan said after receiving a letter from Fifa.
“We complied with all the regulations for this historic victory and I am happy this matter has been laid to rest.
“The country must savour this win as Bafana Bafana were the first country to beat Spain on the African continent.”
The Fifa letter, which confirmed the match status, said the world body had taken into account that both teams had agreed on the conditions of the match and submitted the necessary documentation prior to the match.
“In this context, South Africa shall not suffer any negative consequences on its part for adhering to the agreed conditions,” the statement read.
“The match shall be considered as an official match and is therefore included in the November edition of the Fifa world ranking.
“Regarding the alleged incident of Spain using more than the maximum of six substitutes, Fifa is currently analysing the information at our disposal to assess possible next steps.”
Bafana Bafana remained in 61st position in the Fifa World Rankings list released on Thursday, despite beating Swaziland and Spain in November.
The team did move up one spot, however, in the Confederation of African Football (Caf) rankings, now occupying 11th position.
Bafana Bafana were credited with a win over Spain at FNB Stadium after a controversial seventh substitution by the visitors threw the status of the match into question.
Spain breached Fifa’s rule of a maximum six substitutions during an international friendly a move which threatened to relegate the tie to a practice match.
The current World and European Champions made their seventh change in the 80th minute when substitute goalkeeper Victor Valdes went down injured and was then replaced by Pepe Reina in goal.
Bafana thrashed Swaziland 3-0 in Mbabane on November 15, before their shock 1-0 win over La Roja, but despite both results, South Africa would have to make do with their ranking for at least another month.
– Sapa
