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Johannesburg - Following Sunday night’s news that Bafana Bafana could be handed a Soccer World Cup lifeline due to FIFA’s investigation into Ethiopia, football’s world governing body say that they can not give an exact date of when the matter will be resolved.
The Black Lions are being investigated after they allegedly fielded an ineligible player in their win over Botswana earlier this year, and could well be docked three points, reigniting Bafana’s chances of making it to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
However, it remains to be seen when FIFA will come to their decision with regards to Ethiopia’s alleged wrongdoing, with a spokesperson for the organisation telling the Siya crew that they have not set a date.
VIDEO: Bafana own goal
GALLERY: Ethiopia v Bafana
FIFA said, “Unfortunately we can’t give a time frame for when it will be sorted. Every case is very different and all we can say is that we can give an update as soon as there is anything more that we can communicate. We know that it’s very important and that team’s qualifiers are still ongoing, it should be sorted before the next round.”
While the spokesperson could not confirm when a decision would be made, they did confirm that, if found guilty, Ethiopia are likely to forfeit their win against Botswana, as well as face a fine from FIFA.
The crew will continue to monitor the situation in order to see whether Bafana’s chances of qualifying for next year’s showpiece in Brazil are dead or alive.
The Black Lions are being investigated after they allegedly fielded an ineligible player in their win over Botswana earlier this year, and could well be docked three points, reigniting Bafana’s chances of making it to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
However, it remains to be seen when FIFA will come to their decision with regards to Ethiopia’s alleged wrongdoing, with a spokesperson for the organisation telling the Siya crew that they have not set a date.
VIDEO: Bafana own goal
GALLERY: Ethiopia v Bafana
FIFA said, “Unfortunately we can’t give a time frame for when it will be sorted. Every case is very different and all we can say is that we can give an update as soon as there is anything more that we can communicate. We know that it’s very important and that team’s qualifiers are still ongoing, it should be sorted before the next round.”
While the spokesperson could not confirm when a decision would be made, they did confirm that, if found guilty, Ethiopia are likely to forfeit their win against Botswana, as well as face a fine from FIFA.
The crew will continue to monitor the situation in order to see whether Bafana’s chances of qualifying for next year’s showpiece in Brazil are dead or alive.
