South Africa coach Hugo Broos claims pressure from Nigeria behind the scenes led to Bafana Bafana being docked their three points for fielding defaulter Teboho Mokoena earlier in the World Cup qualifying campaign.
The 73-year-old Belgian has given another startling interview to Het Nieuwsblad newspaper in his home country, filled with conspiracy theories.
The belated docking of points by Fifa some six months after Mokoena was fielded raised many eyebrows but Broos claims it was because of Nigerian pressure.
"Not Lesotho, not me and my staff, and not the player in question were aware of any wrongdoing. Neither was Fifa. The Fifa Disciplinary Committee has met three times since then, and there was never a problem. Until two weeks before this crucial two-legged World Cup qualifier.
“It's not normal, is it? No doubt due to pressure from Nigeria, which was in a losing position and now has a chance again. If this costs us the World Cup, it will be truly heartbreaking. Those yellow cards were from a year and a half earlier, but it will never happen to us again – 10 men have been keeping track of the yellow cards ever since," he told the newspaper.
Broos also said South Africa had vetoed efforts by Zimbabwe to move Friday’s World cup qualifier to Francistown, although in reality South Africa has no say over where Zimbabwe pay the match because it is their home game.
"Three weeks ago, Zimbabwe suddenly wanted to play that match in Botswana. Their own stadium isn't up to par – that happens often in Africa – but no other country played against Zimbabwe in Botswana. Why should we suddenly have to? That's a form of competitive distortion. Conditions that shouldn't be allowed in 2025. We resisted, and thankfully we're now playing in South Africa, but you can feel all sorts of things going on. Annoying opponents is a continental sport in Africa," Broos told the Belgian reporter.
Reflecting on South Africa’s qualifying campaign, Broos said there were other attempts to jeopardise Bafana’s chances
"A real disgrace," he said of the away game in Rwanda in November 2023 where Bafana lost 2-0. "The stadium was abysmal. The seams of the 25-year-old artificial turf pitch were sticking out. Moreover, the pitch wasn't even, and half an hour before the match, it started raining. The entire pitch was flooded. Don't tell me Fifa inspected and approved that stadium. Impossible. And what makes it even worse: we're the only team that had to play there. Again, a distortion of the competition.
"Or the draw against Nigeria, also in these World Cup qualifiers, in June 2024," Broos continued. "We boarded our charter, but it wouldn't take off. I kept thinking: 'What's going on here?' Until suddenly the pilot told us he couldn't leave because the runway we had to go to in Nigeria wasn't lit. Well, they made us wait for three hours, until it got dark. Surely this kind of situation can finally end in 2025."
Broos said he felt South Africa still had a very good chance of qualifying for the World Cup, despite all the circumstances.
"The whole country will celebrate if we pull it off," he told the Belgian press. "I can't even go from my apartment to the department store without having to take multiple selfies. A few months ago, a police car even stopped me. With screeching tires. I was terrified when three officers got out. 'Coach! Coach!' Selfie!' I was so relieved. It bodes well for the future. Or at least I hope so."