South Africa boss Gordon Igesund has explained his altercation with the Spain bench during their 1-0 win over La Roja on Tuesday.
The Bafana Bafana recorded what was possibly the best result in their history, but the game was held up for a few minutes when Igesund argued with the opposition following an injury to Spain goalkeeper Victor Valdes.
Before the game it was decided that only six substitutions could be made, but Valdes suffered a calf injury with 13 minutes remaining and, with Alvaro Arbeloa set to go in goal, was eventually replaced by Pepe Reina.
It was a decision that clearly upset Igesund, who gave his version of events to reporters after the game.
”The referee or the fourth official came and asked me if they could put another player on, so I told him ‘I’m not the referee and we must follow the rules’.
“It was an official game and they needed to speak to the referee because we were told in a meeting beforehand that the maximum changes we could make was six.
“This was an international friendly match and I don’t think the rules need to be changed.
“I never said they shouldn’t bring players on. It’s the referee that must do so because we had been given the rules,” insisted Igesund.
