By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Football governing body, FIFA has confirmed that South Africa have been docked three points for fielding ineligible player while serving a yellow-card suspension in their match against Lesotho.
South Africa now slips to second in Group C, trailing Benin on goal difference.
Bafana Bafana played Teboho Mokoena during a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Lesotho. The match took place in March 2025 and secured a comfortable 2-0 victory.
He received a yellow card in November 2023, against Benin. His second caution came in June 2024, versus Zimbabwe.
FIFA rules for their tournaments state that a player who accumulates two yellow cards over two different matches is automatically suspended for the next match.
Safa and Bafana Bafana missed this technicality and fielded Mokoena, who is a key figure in the Hugo Broos team.
In a statement, “FIFA argued SAFA/Bafana breached “article 19 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) and article 14 of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Preliminary Competition Regulations”.
“Consequently, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has declared the match in question to have been forfeited by the representative team of South Africa by a score of 3-0.
“SAFA has also been ordered to pay a fine of CHF 10,000 (R251 000) to FIFA, while Teboho Mokoena has been issued with a warning.”
South Africa Football Association (SAFA) have 10 days to appeal the decision before the log will be officially updated.
Bafana Bafana close off their qualification campaign with clashes against Zimbabwe (away) and Rwanda (at home) in early October. Only the top teams in each of the nine groups qualify directly for the next year’s World Cup. The four best runners-up have a backdoor opportunity via the murky path of intercontinental playoffs.