Wednesday 19 June 2013

Danny's Double Jeopardy: Why Ethiopia could lose SIX POINTS in the World Cup race (inludes all THREE possible tables)

MAKING A MEAL OF IT: lunch with Danny Jordaan
DANNY JORDAAN had no hesitation. When I put it to him that Ethiopia couldn’t be docked six points for failing to honour a ONE MATCH ban, he came straight out with it: “You’re completely wrong.”

Ever the cool football administrator, Jordaan explained: “That player is under suspension until he has served his sentence. He should not have played against Botswana and he should not have played against South Africa. Especially when the Ethiopia Federation already knew they had made a mistake.”

To there it is. SAFA’s president-elect Danny Jordaan, the man who engineered a massively successful 2010 World Cup, has spoken. I thought the fact that Minyahel Teshome Beyene had ignored a one-match ban to play against Botswana could only mean a maximum three-point deduction for the side currently top of CAF World Cup qualifying Group A.

But let’s face it. Jordaan, steeped in football politics for forty years, is the authority on these things.

And if he’s right, and FIFA decide to act against Ethiopia for fielding Beyene illegally in TWO successive World Cup qualifiers, South Africa are home and hosed as Group A winners.

As you can see from the three tables below, the task would then be complete for under-fire Gordon Igesund, who thought he was OUT of the World Cup in our distraught Sunday night phone call.

Under the “Danny Double Jeopardy” (table number 3) South Africa would have a four-point cushion if FIFA give them a 3-0 win rather than the 1-2 defeat they actually suffered on Sunday.

FIFA are refusing to comment on the case “while it is under scrutiny” but the admissions of guilt from EFF president Sahilu Gebremariam and vice-president Berhanu Kebede seem to suggest the case is proven. They can hardly claim “mistaken identity” now, which is the only defence left to them according to Jordaan.

All that remains is for FIFA to make the pronouncement. They will also be asked to scrutinise two further allegations – that Dean Furman was spat at in the face and that the Ethiopian No5 was booked twice in the match but not sent off.

However this turns out, September 6 will be an interesting day. Ethiopia go to the Central African Republic knowing only off-field blunders might have denied them a place in the play-offs for Brazil 2014. South Africa play Botswana knowing many feel they don’t deserve to top the group.

But whoever ends in that coveted spot will know that a final significant hurdle remains. To reach the World Cup, African group leaders, uniquely, have to play off against each other. And with teams like Egypt, Algeria and the Ivory Coast lurking, Brazil remains a hope rather than a certainty.

CAF World Cup qualifying Group A as it stands:

Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
5
4
1
0
8
3
+5
13
5
2
2
1
8
4
+4
8
5
1
1
3
5
8
−3
4
5
1
0
4
4
10
−6
3

How the table will look if FIFA act on Botswana game:


Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
5
3
1
1
6
5
+1
10
5
2
2
1
8
4
+4
8
5
2
1
2
7
6
+1
7
5
1
0
4
4
10
−6
3


How the table will look if FIFA act on BOTH games:

Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
 South Africa
5
3
2
0
10
2
+8
11
5
2
1
2
4
7
-3
7
5
2
1
2
7
6
+1
7
5
1
0
4
4
10
−6
3


7 comments:

  1. People laughed at S.A when rules denied us a place at the 2012 Afcon, rules are rules we all know that Pirates fans are not happy about this and frankly i dont care, front door, back door, sliding door, window, joshua door i dont care as long as Bafana goes to Brazil, we all know we gonna be kicked out in the 1st round but who cares??

    ReplyDelete
  2. The first 3pts should be docked because he had the status of 'ineligibility' & he still played & the second 3pts should be docked because he was suppose to serve his suspension & has'nt till this day, if there was a game tomorrow, he'd still be ineligible to play, according to the FIFA rules! Rules are rules baba!! Besides we handed them that win & now we want it back, Philip wants us to fetch him in #Brazil :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Go back to your Zulu tribes niggers.. All you could ever be is a white man's slave. Banana Banana shouldn't qualify. They don't know how to play. ETHIOPIA!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fuck you, u skinny motherfucker!
      Thats why we killing Ethiopians here

      Delete
  4. Fifa disciplinary code art. 19 par 5. :

    5. A match suspension is regarded as no longer pending if a match is retroactively forfeited because a player took part in a match despite being ineligible (art. 55). This also applies to the match suspension imposed on the player who took part in the match despite being ineligible.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Neal, do you allow ethno-racial bigotry to flourish in your space? Cyber and otherwise? It would be a grievous indicretion in your part. Like the Mandela tweet you recently apologised about.

    ReplyDelete