Siyabonga Zulu became the 22nd player to be sent off for Bafana Bafana when he was rightly dismissed for a professional foul in the 3-1 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier loss to Mauritania on Saturday.

The Platinum Stars defender denied a charging opponent a goalscoring opportunity with a elbow to the back and became the second player to see red in Shakes Mashaba's current tenure after Reneilwe Letsholonyane in Nigeria last November.

Ironically, Bafana's first four red cards all came against Zambia in the early years of readmission.

Former striker Phil Masinga became the first Bafana player to be sent to the stands in an Afcon qualifier in August 1992, before both coach Augusto Palacios and defender Gardner Seale saw red a year later in a 3-0 away defeat against Chipolopolo.

The next year Doctor Khumalo got the first of two red cards in his Bafana career when he was also sent off against Zambia having scored earlier in a 2-1 win. His second red card came against Cameroon later that year.

The only other player to receive two red cards in a national team jersey is former defender Andrew Rabutla, who received his marching orders against Morocco in an Afcon quarterfinal in 1998 and Mozambique. Two players have received red cards at the Fifa World Cup finals - ex-midfielder Maimane Phiri against Denmark in the 1998 tournament in France, and Itumeleng Khune against Uruguay in 2010.

Khune remains the only keeper to see red to date.

There have also been three Bafana coaches sent to the stands down the years - Palacios, Trott Moloto and Pitso Mosimane.