By Velile Mnyandu in Yaoundé, Cameroon
Just a few days after helping Egypt plot the downfall of Morocco, beating them 2-1 in the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals, former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper and Orlando Pirates head coach Roger De Sa has been suspended for four matches by CAF.
De Sa was found guilty of misconduct and bringing the game into disrepute following an altercation between him and Moroccan Football Federation President Faouzi Lekjaa, who is also a CAF Executive Committee and FIFA Council member.
The CAF Disciplinary Board which is chaired by another South African, Raymond Hack, has been trying hard to instill discipline in the tournament and the ill-tampered North African derby between Egypt and Morocco had some ugly scenes during and after the game where this incident is alleged to had taken place.
De Sa, will miss Thursday’s semi-final against Cameroon at the Olembe stadium and the final or third and fourth place play-off. In addition to those two games, he will also miss the next two international matches after the tournament, most likely to be the back-to-back 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Senegal in March as he was also found to have used an obscene gesture. The Egyptian Football Association was fined $10 000 in the process.
The Pharaohs have also been dealt a big blow as they would miss the services of their defender Marwan Dawoud after he was also suspended for two matches (semi-final and the final or third place or fourth place play-off) for his violent conduct during this game.
A warning was also addressed to the head coach Carlos Queiroz for bringing the game into disrepute following his behaviour on the bench.
Moroccan players Soufian Chakla and Soufian Boufal were also suspended for two matches for their violent behaviour and this means that they will be unviable when the Atlas Lions play Democratic Republic of Congo in the World Cup qualifiers. The FMR was also fined $10 000.
