The 2020/21 season has been far from plain sailing with club managers facing uncertainty when sending players away for international duty.
Rangers have several players away representing their countries but thankfully none of them are having to quarantine when they return, although FIFA had cleared clubs to block players if this was going to be the case.
For Steven Gerrard, one such player was Bongani Zungu with the South African international unable to play in his side’s World Cup qualifiers without passing through a UK Government “red zone” country meaning that he would have to quarantine when he came back to Scotland.
For obvious reasons – a lengthy SFA ban on the horizon – you would have thought that Zungu would have travelled regardless to get some valuable game time and even the Bafana Bafana Doctor said that they were expecting him to travel, as reported by The Daily Record:
“He’ll be joining us in Sudan. With (Keagan) Dolly, we’re still hoping and there are still negotiations happening.
“We agreed (with Rangers)‚ and Zungu said he’s willing to quarantine.”
Subsequently though, the player himself updated fans via his social media accounts – and reported by Vital Rangers – that he won’t be travelling and will instead stay in Scotland, a strange choice when you consider that he probably won’t be eligible for some time, unless he knows something that we don’t.
Unfortunately I won’t be able to travel to South Africa to represent my country. But I’d like to wish the boys the best of luck. @BafanaBafana 🇿🇦🇿🇦 let’s get it 💪🏽
— Bongani Zungu (@BonganiZungu08) March 23, 2021
It’s a strange decision, especially when you consider that he really needs to be playing games to give himself the best opportunity of finding his form and, perhaps more importantly, finding a new club. It does raise the question of why he has chosen to stay in Glasgow and if it is, as reported, the decision of the Rangers management team not to allow him to travel.
That the SFA’s disciplinary board delayed the announcement of the outcome of their investigation perhaps suggests that the expect bans might not be as long as first thought.