Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle says no malice was meant following a fiery clash between them and the Bafana Bafana bench during their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
Bafana Bafana maintained their six-point gap at the top with two rounds of action to go after being held to a 1-1 draw by the Super Eagles at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein. Benin romped to a 4-0 thrashing over Lesotho to reclaim second spot in the later kick off.
The home side took the lead just 22 minutes in after captain William Troost-Ekong deflected the ball into his own net. Fulham defender, Calvin Bassey restored parity for the visitors before half time in a rather controversial manner after the ball came off his hand before crossing the line.
Chelle admitted that the pressure to win from both sides stirred up the tension, something he has no problem with.
“Once again, this is a big game so there is some stress, there is some tension,” he told the media.
“So, sometime you can say something badly and sometimes you need to fight, not against the real fight, but you need to manage it and sometime it’s difficult because of the pressure.
“But this is the football. This is normal when the two team, when the two bench wants to win.
“And you know it was at every decision about the referee, one of the bench does not agree with that, so this is the football.
“And for a big game like that, because of the game and because everyone is South Africa against Nigeria.
“So, this is normal for me. We’re focus on the game, and we try to win.
“The two team try to win so I have no problem with that.”
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