The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the South African Football Association (SAFA) for fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, during the 2026 FIFA World Cup preliminary qualifier between South Africa and Lesotho on March 21, 2025.
FIFA ruled that SAFA’s actions violated Article 19 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and Article 14 of the World Cup 2026 Preliminary Competition Regulations. Consequently, the match has been forfeited in favor of Lesotho, with a 3-0 score line officially awarded.
In addition, SAFA has been fined CHF 10,000, while Mokoena himself has received an official warning.
The decision was formally communicated to the parties today. Under FIFA rules, they have ten days to request a detailed, motivated decision, which would subsequently be published on legal.fifa.com. The ruling remains subject to appeal before the FIFA Appeal Committee.
Prior to the sanction, Hugo Broos’ side, Bafana Bafana, were leading Group C in the World Cup qualifiers with 17 points from eight matches, holding a three-point lead over second-placed Benin.
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.
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