Broos slams – South Africa coach Hugo Broos said midfielder Themba Zwane’s three-match World Cup ban for a red card against Mexico is “much, much too severe,” pointing to missed or differing punishment in other high-profile incidents. Broos said South Africa will appeal.
ATLANTA — South Africa coach Hugo Broos walked into Wednesday’s media session with a clear message: the punishment handed to midfielder Themba Zwane felt out of proportion to the moment.
Ahead of a June 18 match against Czechia in Atlanta (noon ET, FOX), Broos openly panned the three-match ban Zwane received after a red card in South Africa’s 84th-minute sequence against Mexico.
“I think that the red card is too severe,” Broos said on Wednesday.
The red card came on June 11. when Zwane caught Roberto Alvarado with a slap across the face as the Mexico player ran past. Zwane immediately received a red card, and it was South Africa’s second red of the match. The team had already been forced to play short-handed after Yaya Sithole was also sent off in the 49th minute for a rugby-style tackle on Mexico’s Brian Gutiérrez.
Broos framed his disagreement as something more than rules—he said the decision looked heavier than the discipline he expected from comparable incidents.
“I don’t think it was a red card when I see what happened yesterday with [Lionel] Messi. I don’t agree, certainly not. I think there was not even a VAR with Messi,” Broos later added. “When you see the situation. the Mexican player blocked my player … When you get the red card for that. and then a three-game suspension. I’m sorry, but this is much, much too severe.”.
In Broos’s comparison. he referenced a moment from Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria on Tuesday. where Lionel Messi made contact with the lower leg and Achilles tendon of Algerian captain Aissa Mandi. Broos said the play was not reviewed, and that Messi received neither a yellow card nor a red card. Algeria, he said, was instead awarded a free kick.
Under FIFA disciplinary norms, a red card typically leads to a one-match suspension by the FIFA disciplinary committee. But in Zwane’s case, the decision expanded. Broos said the ban was extended because Zwane’s red card was considered foul play.
South Africa coach said he expects to challenge the outcome. Broos told reporters on-site Wednesday that South Africa will appeal Zwane’s ban.
“The second red card we can discuss,” Broos said June 11. “It was the Mexican player who was blocking my player. But it’s the position of the referee, and we have to accept it also, but I think it was too soft to give that as a red card.”
For now, Zwane’s three-match suspension remains in place as South Africa prepares to face Czechia on June 18 in Atlanta, while Broos presses the issue with an appeal and a comparison meant to make the inconsistency feel undeniable.
Hugo Broos Themba Zwane three-match ban red card Mexico South Africa FIFA disciplinary committee appeal Atlanta Czechia World Cup
3 matches for that? that feels wild. refs been on some other planet lately.
I mean if it was just a slap, why is it always like the punishment is worse than what actually happened. Seems like somebody just wanted to make an example. Also didn’t Messi not get anything so how is this fair?
Wait so Messi supposedly got no VAR and no card but Zwane gets three games?? That doesn’t make sense at all. They always say “discipline norms” but it’s never the same. I swear red cards are like a vibe check, not rules.
Not gonna lie I didn’t even know Zwane got banned till I saw this headline. Coach says it’s too severe but like… was he actually supposed to get away with it? Appeals rarely work anyway, FIFA just gonna do what FIFA does. Also the part about the referee position being the issue sounds like the ref was blind or something.