THE South African Football Association (SAFA) has been sanctioned by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee for fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, during South Africa’s World Cup 2026™ preliminary match against Lesotho on March 21, 2025.
According to FIFA, SAFA’s actions violated Article 19 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code 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 (R216, 500) 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 10 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 Bafana now find themselves tied on 14 points with Benin in Group C, separated only by goal difference and the margin for error has vanished.
South Africa must regroup and prepare for their final two qualifiers against Zimbabwe and Rwanda knowing that only a full six points will be enough to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
Even then, their fate may not be entirely in their hands, as they will also need Benin to drop points in either of their remaining fixtures against Nigeria or Lesotho. –FIFA
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