With Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Teboho Mokoena back under fire with regards the Bafana Bafana ineligibility case, has former SAFA CEO Raymond Hack gone too far with his accusations?
Bafana defaulted by playing Mokoena in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Lesotho, a match which he was supposed to sit out due to suspension having picked up two yellow cards in the two games prior.
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Former SAFA CEO Raymond Hack, a lawyer by profession, has now also put the blame on the 28-year-old for "bringing the country into disrepute".
"It's very clear, the rules say you cannot play when you have been suspended, the onus is on the team and the player both to know. The rules are very clear, if the player has been ineligible, they will forfeit the game with a 3-0 scoreline," Hack said on SoccerBeat YouTube Channel.
"The onus is on the association, the onus is on the player, because they all know it. Somebody dropped the ball. But it's not just somebody, it's the player as well. Because the player knows when he's been booked.
"You know that when you've got so many (yellow cards), you cannot play. The player had a duty - he's a professional, he's playing for the national team - 'I'm bringing the country into disrepute. I'm being dishonest'. That's the bottom line," added Hack, who is also currently the Chairman of the PSL Dispute Resolution Chamber.
However, with players involved in so many competitions, it appears unrealistic for them to get to know the rules, as Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jobe Bellingham, for example, was unaware he was suspended for a upcoming game against Real Madrid, for a chance to face his older brother Jude in the quarter-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup.
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This was after picking up a second yellow card of the tournament in their last match of the group stage against Monterrey.
At the Club World Cup, bookings in the group stage were carried over to the knockouts, which is different to tournaments like the UEFA Champions League or the FIFA World Cup, where yellow cards from the group phase are wiped off going into the knockout stages.
"At half-time, he (Jobe) didn't exactly know that the second yellow card is a suspension. He was a little bit surprised," Dortmund manager Niko Kovac revealed to the media at the tournament.
There was also a nine-month gap from the last game Mokoena was booked against Zimbabwe before facing Lesotho.
Photo: Philip Maeta/Gallo Images
