I have little confidence in the SA Football Association (Safa) dealing with transgressors, so I won’t waste any precious time harping on about why the rulebook should be thrown at yet another player who snubbed the national team last week.
What is puzzling, however, is the identity of the player in question - Tokelo Rantie. I honestly didn’t see this coming, neither did Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba or Safa for that matter. Through thick and thin, Mashaba shouldered Rantie by continuing to select him when he was technically clubless because his then English Premier League team, Bournemouth, had sidelined him and the player was seen at a Virgin Active in Johannesburg keeping fit on his own. Mashaba was so defiant with his support of Rantie he would have selected him for a World Cup final in a heartbeat.
I thought the coach would come down hard on his favourite player when it was officially confirmed Rantie would not be joining Bafana in Ouagadougou for their opening 2018 World Cup qualifier against Burkina Faso last weekend. Instead Mashaba was surprisingly lenient when talking about the reasons Rantie, who joined Turkish side Genclerbirligi two months ago, had failed to arrive at the airport for the national team’s departure.
“I want to make it clear that the technical team is not suspending Tokelo until this is dealt with by our hierarchy that is Safa. We have not imposed any sentence on him, but we did not want him here so late for the sake of the team spirit,” Mashaba remarked, adding that he was a father-figure to Rantie and continues to believe in his ability as one of the country’s marksman. I honestly thought the coach would have slated him. After all, the player had just shown him the middle finger ahead of an important encounter against a tricky opposition. Bafana drew 1-1.
Mashaba’s mellow reaction aside, Rantie should be ashamed of himself. The main reason - probably the only one that makes sense - he was able to secure a deal to Turkey after no game time in England, was because of his regular Bafana call-ups. In so many ways, Mashaba did him a solid favour, helping him hold on to his career abroad. Even when he missed an important penalty in Bafana’s opening 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) group match against Algeria in Equatorial Guinea, the coach shielded him. Bafana were leading 1-0 when Rantie blasted his spot kick over the bar, allowing the Algerians to claw their way back into the game and go on to win 3-1, putting pressure on Mashaba and his men in a tough group that already included Senegal and Ghana.
And last week Rantie sent a very depressing thank you note. Given there seems to be a shortage of forwards who can actually score for the national team, it is only a matter of time before Mashaba fights to have him back in the squad, regardless of why the player didn't travel to Burkina Faso. Safa has been mum on the disciplinary process it plans to take following Rantie’s no-show, but the player should take a hard look at himself and ask if he wants this to be his legacy.
@superjourno
@extrastrongsa
The Star