SAFA claim Cameroon coach Otto Pfister acted unprofessionally by blaming them for the 'no show' of three star players. Samuel Eto'o of Barcelona, Turkish-based captain Rigobert Song and Newcastle United defender Geremi Njitap all missed the Indomitable Lions 3-2 defeat to Bafana Bafana on Wednesday.
SAFA CEO Raymond Hack was livid when confronted by the coach and said his claims were "absolute rubbish."
Hack disclosed that the three players failed to board their aircraft to Johannesburg as scheduled on Monday.
"He (Pfister) brings this up two hours before kick-off," said Hack.
"I could not believe my ears. I do not know where he was coming from. What does he expect? Must SAFA go to the airport and make sure his players board their respective planes? They are all adults. The three simply failed to check in."
Hack also slammed the Cameroon coach for blaming the South African government for not organising visas for the players.
"Then how did the players arrive and get through customs if they did not have visas," added Hack.
"I know for a fact the SA government went out of their way to assist in making sure all the Cameroon players and officials got their visas and we at SAFA have bent over backwards to help them.
"Eto'o, Geremi and Song all had tickets to Jo'burg and visas. That is why I am so annoyed at these baseless claims."
Mbami Modeste (CMR) in the yellow shirt
Cameroon may be ranked 14th in the world but did not impress when they arrived with only a yellow strip.
Said Hack: "The know our home strip is gold which clashes with theirs. They did not mention this at the team meeting on Tuesday. They told us tonight (Wednesday) they had only one strip.
"Even in this instance we agreed to play in our away green strip to further accommodate them as they are our guests.
"Frankly their complaints are nothing but unsporting and unsettling before the game."
Commentaires vidéos des match par le public.
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