South Africa head coach Hugo Broos criticizes FIFA’s disciplinary decision to suspend midfielder Themba Zwane for three World Cup matches. Zwane is serving the ban after being shown a red card during South Africa’s opening group match against Mexico on June 11, in a 2-0 defeat. According to multiple reports, the incident occurred in the 84th minute when Zwane caught Mexican attacker Roberto Alvarado in the face. Broos says the punishment is too severe and argues that similar incidents during the tournament have not led to comparable sanctions for higher-profile players. Several outlets report that he points to Lionel Messi’s World Cup controversy, where Messi was not given a red card after an incident that Broos describes as being handled differently and involving scrutiny linked to VAR. Broos signals that he intends to appeal Zwane’s suspension. The reports collectively frame the comments as a challenge to officiating and FIFA’s consistency in applying match bans, rather than an argument about the match result itself.