Mashaba had been suspended for the last seven days for an alleged breach of contract. His dismissal came in a letter sent while an urgent interdict against his suspension was continuing at the Johannesburg High Court.

Mashaba's dismissal is the latest saga in an ongoing crisis which unfolded last week when South Africa's Football Association (Safa) suspended him for a week.

Announcing Mashaba's suspension on January 7, Safa said he had failed to monitor the form of the country's foreign-based footballers and to promote the ruling body's image.

Officials said he could lose his job if he failed to recall players like Manchester United's Quinton Fortune and others who have fallen out with Mashaba in recent months.

Mashaba went to court on Tuesday seeking to overturn his suspension by arguing that the ban made it impossible "for me to comply with contractual requirements to remedy the alleged breaches".

The action was postponed until Thursday to allow Safa to prepare papers and in between an unsuccessful attempt was made by sports minister Ngconde Balfour to broker a solution.

The suspension meant Mashaba missed last Saturday's international in Mauritius, when assistant coach Styles Phumo stepped in for a Cosafa Castle Cup match that ended in an embarrassing 2-0 defeat for the visitors.

South Africa's team depart on Friday for a friendly in Dakar against Senegal on Sunday and travel to Tunisia on Monday.

South Africa are in Group D at the Nations Cup finals along with Nigeria, Morocco and Benin, who they play in their opening game on January 27.