Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos claimed even Mohamed Salah was surprised to be awarded the first-half penalty that ultimately decided yesterday’s Afcon Group B clash between Bafana Bafana and Egypt in Agadir.

The Citizen reports that Khuliso Mudau was penalised late in the first half after a VAR check ruled he had deliberately caught Salah in the face inside the box. This is despite the fact that Mudau had his back to Salah and was in control of the ball.

Salah converted the spot kick, which proved to be the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win for the Pharaohs.

“Even Salah said to me after the game that he was surprised it was a penalty,” said Broos at the post-match press conference.

“It was ridiculous.”

Late VAR decision frustrates Bafana

Broos was also furious that Bafana were not awarded a penalty of their own at the end of the match. A nine-minute VAR check ultimately ruled that while the ball had struck Yasser Ahmed on his arm inside the box, it was his supporting arm, so it was not a penalty.

“In the (pre-tournament) meeting they said if the arm is extended away from the body, it is a penalty,” said Broos.

“Then they said it was his supporting arm. Who invented this supporting arm? His arm was extended and it hit his arm.

“I want to talk about the meeting you get before a tournament,” Broos had said at the start of the press conference.

“For 45 minutes they explain the rules, there are 25 to 50 rules. It is a penalty, then it is not a penalty. It is a red card for a players and then it is not. By the end there are so many rules no one knows what to do.”

‘We dominated them’

Broos did admit Egypt were the better side in the first half in Agadir. However, he felt his side were unlucky in the second half against a Pharaohs team reduced to 10 men following the sending off of Mohamed Namy.

“In the first half Egypt were the better team, they had better circulation of the ball,” said Broos.

“In the second half, OK they were one man less, but we dominated them for 45 minutes, in a moment you just need a bit of luck when the ball falls for you or a shot is good. We didn’t have that luck.

“We lost today, but it is still only one game. What happened on the pitch today will certainly motivate us to give 200% when we play Zimbabwe on Monday.”

Bafana are currently second in Group B, three points behind Egypt and two ahead of Angola and Zimbabwe, with one round of matches left to play.

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