It has been confirmed today than Bongani Zungu will not join up with his South Africa teammates for their second international game this week.
There was some ambiguity in regard to the situation with the on-loan Rangers midfielder – whilst he was not permitted to travel home to South Africa to play against Ghana in the game that finished 1-1 yesterday, there was speculation that a compromise had been reached to allow the player to join up with the Bafana Bafana for the away game against Sudan in Khartoum.
The situation has came about due to the likes of South Africa and other countries falling on to a UK government ‘red list’ of nations, meaning individuals returning from those locations would be required to self-isolate.
As a result, FIFA declared that clubs would not be obliged to release players.
Rangers have taken advantage of this loophole, due to Covid precautions and today, South Africa manager Molefi Ntseki confirmed to local press that he would have to do without the services of Zungu for the Sudan clash – bringing an end to the matter.
He stated: “We got an email from Zungu’s club to say they are no longer releasing him – whether it’s coming to South Africa or going to Sudan.”
“I then spoke to him and explained the situation, and he said, ‘It’s a decision that will work against me if ever I force to come to Sudan.’
“We saw a new list of countries that are being referred to as ‘red zones’, and in this case we have Dubai and Ethiopia, which is where players were going to have to come via to get to Sudan.”
The conclusion is that Zungu will continue to train with the rest of the Rangers squad and will be in the frame for consideration against Cove Rangers next weekend.
Not the result we wanted but we still have a chance to make it to afcon. 💪🏽let’s shift our focus to Sudan and finish the job @SAFA_net @BafanaBafana 🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦
— Bongani Zungu (@BonganiZungu08) March 25, 2021