Bafana Bafana Legends Slam Referee Over VAR Call That Denied South Africa a Late Penalty vs Egypt

Two Bafana Bafana legends, Itumeleng Khune and Steven Pienaar, have expressed concern over referee Pacifique Ndabihawenimana’s decision to deny South Africa a late penalty during their 1-0 loss to Egypt at the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

The match, which took place on [insert match date], saw Egypt awarded a controversial penalty in the first half, with Mohamed Salah making no mistake in putting the ball past Ronwen Williams, who was in goal for Bafana Bafana.

The seven-time AFCON champions were down to 10 men a few minutes before the break, but they held on to the lone goal scored by Salah in the first half to secure all three points and book a place in the final.

Bafana legends question ref on VAR call

Bafana Bafana believed they had secured a late penalty after the ball appeared to strike an Egyptian defender’s arm inside the area. The referee awarded South Africa a free-kick outside the box before being called by VAR for a review.

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Following an extended VAR check, during which referee Ndabihawenimana was sent to review the incident on the monitor, the decision was overturned and play was allowed to continue.

In the SABC studio, Khune expressed his confusion, describing it as an “extremely disappointing call.”

“We were certain it was a straightforward penalty — everyone could see it happened inside the box. Why it wasn’t awarded is beyond our understanding,” he added.

Khune criticised the referee, calling the decision “a letdown”.

Pienaar, on the other hand, took to his official handle on X (formerly known as Twitter) to express his disappointment in the referee's decision, while also hailing the Bafana Bafana side.

“Well done Bafana Bafana, we can’t play against the ref and Egypt,” the former South African international tweeted on X.

A lot of South African football fans shared the same sentiments with Khune and Pienaar, and here is what fans are saying on social media concerning the former's submission on the referee's performance.

Skapero King Lee

The ref, the minute he went to check VAR, he didn’t even play the full clip. He skipped the part where the guy was actually jumping out of the box. That’s the moment you see the real problem. The ball hits his hand inside the box, then he jumps out — clear as day. But the ref didn’t show that on VAR. He was just fast-forwarding, passing clips, passing clips, not even watching the full action. Then he goes back and says, ‘no penalty.’ What a joke. This is exactly why African football gets criticised.”

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Sizwe Zaka

The players should have score the goal without penalty we lost we lost hard luck guys.

Tshwarelo Mkhonto

Yoooooohhhh The referee. I'm crying about the penalty south africa bekumele yiwinile 2-1 but if I remember on the world cup qualifiers, im not sure it was m between SOUTH AFRICA vs NIGERIAN the very same thing happened as today and it's the same referee. In front of REFEREE and VAR problem. example 2days back I was watching IVORY COAST vs Zimbabwe and also EGYPT vs MOZAMBIQUE so many mistakes happened in front of the REFEREE and VAR. I MY SELF! not someone else! according my self VAR failed us I don't know maybe it's because we SOUTH AFRICAN or maybe it's racism 🤔 please Mr Patrice Motsepe fight the FIFA to do the right thing as the FIFA law says IM NOT HAPPY AT ALL

Moses Bhudah Moshe

The problem is that if it was for bafana bafana u wouldn't be blaming the ref. Rules are Rules that's not penalty. Accept the loss and prepare for musona.

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Source: Briefly News