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Safa bans coaches over Tovey

Senior South African Football Coaches Association (Safca) officials Greg Mashilo and Simon Ngomane have been banned from all football-related activities for three years following their stinging opposition to Neil Tovey's appointment as the country's technical director in June.

Mashilo, the Safca president, and his technical head Ngomane used various media platforms to question the SA Football Association (Safa) decision to head hunt the former Bafana captain rather than to also interview other candidates for the plum job.

The ban is with immediate effect and came after the two officials were hauled before a disciplinary committee last month.

Safa communications director Dominic Chimhavi said yesterday that the utterances were in open defiance of the sports body's communications policy, which states that only president Danny Jordaan, chief executive Dennis Mumble and Chimhavi can comment.

"This is a serious offence that portrays the association in a negative light to sponsors. We frown upon their comments. They [Mashilo and Ngomane] took us a few steps back when we have been trying hard to move forward," Chimhavi said.

Mashilo said he could not comment on his ban because he intends to appeal against the ruling.

Ngomane said he left the matter in the hands of Safca and was not aware if they had filed an appeal on his behalf by last night.

"Personally I have not been part of that disciplinary process. It will very interesting to see what the whole thing is all about. Unfortunately I am a member of Safca and not Safa, and Safa can only suspend its member - and that member is Safca and not me. Otherwise they will ban everybody in the streets, won't they?" he said.

In a statement sent to the disciplinary committee chaired by top sports lawyer Michael Murphy, Safa said it took exception to Mashilo's and Ngomane's comments as similar negative utterances have hit the mother body in the pocket in the past.