FIFA have officially deducted points from Bafana Bafana for fielding Teboho Mokoena when he was on a yellow-card suspension against Lesotho.
The Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder is in the centre of the saga after being fielded in Bafana’s 2-0 win over Likuena in Group C even though he had accumulated two yellow cards during the campaign that should have seen him sit-out the fixture in Polokwane.
Hugo Broos’ men currently sit at the top of their World Cup qualification Group C, having collected 17 points from eight games.
Bafana had a three-point gap to second-placed Benin, but have now been overtaken by the Squirrels after their 2-0 win against Lesotho was written off and resulted as 0-3 due to the administrative error.
“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the South African Football Association (SAFA) for having fielded an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, in the South Africa v. Lesotho match played on 21 March 2025 in the FIFA World Cup 2026™ preliminary competition, thereby breaching article 19 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) and article 14 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 M Preliminary Competition Regulations,” FIFA stated.
“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 to FIFA, while Teboho Mokoena has been issued with a warning.
“The parties were notified of the terms of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision today. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the FDC, they have ten days in which to request a motivated decision, which, if requested, would subsequently be published on legal.fifa.com.
“The forfeiture decision remains subject to a potential appeal before the FIFA Appeal Committee.”
Bafana will now take on Zimbabwe and Rwanda to finish off the qualification campaign, and will need two wins, while Benin face Rwanda and Nigeria in their final two qualifiers.
