AFCON 2025: Hugo Broos Reacts to Denied Late Penalty, Shares Conversation With Mohamed Salah

• South African men's national team coach Hugo Broos has shared his thoughts after Bafana Bafana's controversial defeat against Egypt at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
• The Belgian tactician was left furious after two decisions made by the match officials didn't go in favour of his team, and it eventually determined the outcome of the game
• The veteran football mentor also shared the details of the conversation he had with the Egyptian national team captain, Mohamed Salah at the end of the match

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos was furious following South Africa's 1–0 loss to Egypt on Wednesday, December 24, 2025, in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations encounter, later disclosing details of his post-match exchange with Mohamed Salah.

A controversial first-half penalty scored by Salah gave the seven-time African champions a narrow win over Bafana Bafana, despite playing a large part of the match with ten men. South Africa headed into the game with one win after defeating Angola in their first match in the competition on Monday, December 22, 2025.

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Egypt have secured a place in the second round of the competition with the win, while Bafana Bafana will need to beat Zimbabwe in their last group game next week to stand a chance of progressing.

Broos reacts after Bafana were denied penalty

Broos explained that Salah was deemed to have been brought down in the penalty area by an outstretched arm from Khuliso Mudau after a VAR review, a decision that stood out as one of the two pivotal officiating calls in the contest.

South Africa appeared set to be awarded a late penalty, but after a VAR review, the incident was ruled not to be handball inside the box, with the North African side controversially instead given a drop ball.

Broos said officials had spent nearly an hour before the tournament outlining dozens of laws, yet their application remained inconsistent, with the same incidents alternately judged as fouls, penalties or red cards depending on the moment.

He added that the sheer volume of interpretations has left everyone confused, pointing to the opening penalty as an example. Broos claimed that even Mohamed Salah admitted after the match he was shocked it had been awarded, describing the decision as absurd.

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AFCON 2025 VAR controversy: both penalty decisions put under the microscope in Egypt vs South Africa clash

Broos also questioned the logic behind the officials’ handling of his side’s penalty claim, noting that they had previously stated any arm positioned away from the body should result in a spot-kick, which he believed clearly applied in that situation.

Instead, he said the explanation was changed to the idea of a “supporting arm”, a concept he criticised as being invented on the spot, insisting the ball struck an outstretched arm and should unquestionably have been given as a penalty.

Broos hails Bafana star after Angola tie

Briefly News also reported that Broos showered praises on a South African international after his impressive performance in Bafana Bafana's win over Angola in their AFCON 2025 opener.

The Bafana Bafana head coach was critical about the performance of his team, but singled out the player who effected a change in the second period of the match.

Source: Briefly News