Share

Baxter accuses Seychelles of cheating, blames pitch after stalemate

Cape Town - Bafana Bafana head coach Stuart Baxter has accused the Seychelles of cheating, blamed the "worst ever" pitch and a poor refereeing performance after his side were held to a goalless draw.

READ: Player ratings: The Bafana we know

Bafana Bafana were held to a 0-0 draw on Tuesday at the Linite Stadium by Seychelles - a team of semi-professionals who are ranked a staggering 189th in the world.

After a convincing 6-0 win over the same opponents just days earlier at the FNB Stadium, Baxter admitted his disappointment at not coming home with maximum points against the islanders.

"Immediately afterwards I was frustrated and angry about the way the game panned out," Baxter told journalists after landing back in SA.

"I met Gernot Rohr, the Nigeria coach in London and he told me the pitch was the worst he had ever played on in a competitive game, and I agree with him.

"That’s not an excuse, because we still did enough to win the game. But, I think it was a combination of the pitch, some unbelievable time-wasting and cheating by the opponents, a very poor refereeing performance and us not taking advantage of our chances.

"I think that's how you know you can get that result. We had a clear penalty turned down, Nigeria got a penalty, we hit the crossbar and it bounced out, Nigeria hit the crossbar and it hit the goalkeeper and went in. Those are the margins, you need a bit of luck on that pitch.

"So I think the boys did as much as they could. We needed a bit of quality at the right time.

"The players were very, very deflated - I don't want to say embarrassed because that would be deriding the effort that they put in, but they know the result was important for us, so they were therefore very down after the game."

Baxter though insisted that all was not lost as Bafana still stood a good chance of qualifying for next year's AFCON tournament to be hosted in Cameroon.

"The situation is not really changed. If we had won last night, we would still have to do the same things - we still have to knock Nigeria over, if we can, and if we don’t then we’ve got to get something in Libya," he added.

"And that would have been the same even if we got a couple more points, but it would have been very good for the confidence."

To secure qualification - Bafana Bafana would need to as a bare minimum - ensure that they take points off Libya in their final qualifier.

Bafana Bafana next host Nigeria on November 16 at the FNB Stadium.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1473 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2252 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE