South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira axed striker Benni McCarthy and goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez from the host country’s World Cup squad for allegedly bringing women back to the team hotel in Johannesburg, it has been claimed.
The manager is believed to have reacted furiously after seeing CCTV footage of the duo bringing girls back to their hotel rooms after South Africa’s friendly against Colombia in Soweto on 27 May.
A staff member told City Press, “The two players had a few drinks after the game in the presence of female friends at the bar. The other players were there too.”
Parreira told a news conference at the time he named his squad: “I am not going to talk about individuals who did not make the final squad. We applied five principles when making our choices.
“This is not the end of the road for the five footballers whose dreams I have cut short. There will be other opportunites to play for the national team.”
McCarthy had come on as a substitute during his country’s 2-1 win over the Colombians but failed to make much of an impact.
