Online Reporter
FIFA has docked South Africa three points and overturned the result of its World Cup qualifier against Lesotho, played in March.
The decision was announced by the governing body in a media release issued yesterday.
In their 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on 21 March, Bafana Bafana fielded Teboho Mokoena, who should have been serving a one-match suspension due to accumulated yellow cards.
Although the match took place in March, Fifa only announced its investigation into the matter in September, with the outcome published yesterday.
“The Fifa Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the South African Football Association (Safa) for fielding 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™ Preliminary Competition Regulations,” the media release stated.
“Consequently, the Fifa Disciplinary Committee has declared the match in question to have been forfeited by the South African national team, with a score of 3-0 awarded to Lesotho.”
In addition to losing three points and suffering a three-goal penalty, Safa has been fined 10 000 Swiss francs (R216 604.00) by Fifa, and Teboho Mokoena has received a formal 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,” the statement added.
Bafana Bafana have now lost top spot in Group C of the African qualifiers, although they remain level on 14 points with Benin. Their goal difference has dropped from eight to three, placing them one below Benin’s four.
South Africa are scheduled to face Zimbabwe and Rwanda on October 10 and 14 respectively, in their final two qualifiers. — africanfootball.com
