The South African flag should fly on October 15 at 9 p.m. at the Stade de France for the quarter-final of the Rugby World Cup between the Springboks and the French XV. The sports minister of the “rainbow nation” announced on Tuesday, October 10, that his country appealed the decision of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which, ultimately, could have deprived its players distinctive jerseys, flag and national anthem, Sunday evening, in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis).

WADA had given South Africa until Friday to update its legislation, which is no longer in compliance with the anti-doping code. However, given the proximity of the deadline, it was almost certain that Pretoria would not be up to standard on time.

The appeal lodged with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne (Switzerland), which is suspensive, aims to “delay” the effects of the decision of the body and to spare the country a major embarrassment, justified Minister Zizi Kodwa, during a press conference.

“This means that the flying of the South African flag at events such as the Cricket and Rugby World Cups will not be affected until the CAS has ruled on this matter,” he explained. I believe the grounds for the appeal are strong and the sanctions are not appropriate. » “The sanction relating to the ban on hoisting the national flag has created unnecessary hysteria and unfairly punished athletes and players,” protested the leader.

“This is very worrying for our country.”

The appeal was lodged by the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (Saids), the independent body that oversees the fight against doping in South Africa, Kodwa said.

The new WADA Code came into force in 2021 and, to date, only South Africa and Bermuda have yet to bring their national regulations into compliance. This delay aroused the anger of Mark Alexander, the head of the South African rugby union: “We have this problem because our government has failed to pass new legislation into law,” he told the media. local. It’s a shame. This is very worrying for our country. [Officials] were warned well in advance. »

Minister Kodwa, for his part, reported that he had proposed the necessary changes to the council of ministers last week and that he had requested that the bill be subject to an accelerated procedure within the parliamentary system. “I am confident that WADA will recognize these efforts as a commitment to adopt the amended legislation and suspend the declaration of non-compliance,” he said.