Johannesburg - World football governing body, FIFA, has confirmed that Bafana Bafana goalkeeper, Itumeleg Khune, has been suspended for one match for denying the opposing team a clear goal-scoring opportunity in last night's match against Uruguay.
Khune is regarded as having breached article 48 paragraph 1 a) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC).
"The suspension shall be served in the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa match between France and South Africa of 22 June 2010," said FIFA, following a meeting of its disciplinary committee this morning.
Bafana Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira is said to have complained to the football governing body about the controversial decision by referee Massimo Busacca to award Uruguay a penalty before flashing a red card at Khune.
However, the disciplinary committee looked into Parreira's complaint and found there was indeed a violation of FIFA's disciplinary code.
Australian forward, Tim Cahill, also received a one-match suspension by the disciplinary committee for committing serious foul play in the match between Germany and the Socceroos.
"Tim Cahill is regarded as having breached article 48 paragraph 1 b) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC). He is therefore suspended for one match. The suspension shall be served in the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa match between Ghana and Australia of 19 June 2010," it said.
Meanwhile, Local Organising Committee (LOC) spokesperson, Rich Mkhondo, has described Wednesday night as a day of pain for South Africans following the national team's 3-nil defeat by Uruguay.
"It was a day of pain to us. Our loss to Uruguay reminded us of the bitter memories of June 16 1976. However, as South Africans we must remain a great host nation.
"We want to urge South African fans to continue supporting five other African teams (Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Algeria and Cameroon) as well as other teams throughout the tournament," he said.
Mkhondo also urged soccer fans to use public transportation during the tournament.
FIFA spokesperson Nicolas Maingot also appealed to soccer fans to refrain from buying match tickets from any other sources other than FIFA's ticketing channels which include FIFA.Com, their Call Centre, FIFA Ticketing Centres and FNB branches.
