South Africa appeal Nations elimination

Soccer: South Africa have launched an appeal against their African Nations Cup elimination after failure to understand the rules of the qualifiers resulted in them falling short in a three-way tie in their qualifying group.

Niger took top spot because of a better head-to-head record when Bafana Bafana thought that goal difference was the deciding factor.

They are now pressing ahead with their legal bid to try to overturn the decision, although critics have accused them of putting forward a flimsy argument to cover up their embarrassment.

"We are going ahead with an appeal to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) because we think we have a case," South African Football Association chief executive officer Robin Petersen told reporters.

Petersen said goal difference is a fairer option than head-to-heads and that there is past precedent to overturn the standings, even though the rules had been set out by CAF some time before the qualifiers even started.

Coach Pitso Mosimane informed officials on Monday he had read the rules before Saturday's last qualifying game against Sierra Leone in Nelspruit but misinterpreted them, Petersen added.

The coach was called in to explain why he played for a 0-0 draw in a game that South Africa needed to win irrespective of the result in the other group match, where bottom side Egypt beat Niger 3-0 in Cairo.

The games were played simultaneously on Saturday.

Niger led both South Africa and Sierra Leone by a single point going into the weekend's last round of qualifiers but when news that Niger were trailing in Cairo reached Mosimane, he told his players to play for a draw believing it would be enough to qualify.

There was exaggerated time-wasting in the final minutes followed by scenes of celebration before South Africa discovered they had botched the permutations.

A CAF spokesman said a South African protest would be looked into but refused further comment.

Mosimane, who took over as South Africa coach after the country's hosting of the 2010 World Cup, has taken the brunt of vitriolic condemnation on radio talk shows and across social media with a majority of fans calling for his dismissal.

Upon learning of his error, he said: “It's very sad for South Africa because the country deserves to be in next year's Nations Cup. I feel like I have failed.”

He added: “Do you think I would have left (striker Lehlohonolo) Majoro on the bench and put on a midfielder if I knew that we needed a goal? It doesn't make sense.

“Africa is a jungle, my friend," Mosimane added. "The European and South American formats are so much better because everything is running smoothly, but it's very difficult to play in Africa.”

In fact, qualifiers for the European Championships use the same system for teams level on points.