FIFA Rule That Landed South Africa in Hot Water Over Teboho Mokoena’s Case Emerges
Bafana Bafana are currently facing a significant issue concerning their chances of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
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FIFA has opened a case against Bafana Bafana for fielding Teboho Mokoena against Lesotho, despite his ineligibility to play the match due to having accumulated two yellow cards before the tie.
In March, during matchday five of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Hugo Broos played Mokoena for 82 minutes against Lesotho, and it was after the match that it was deduced that he was not supposed to feature.
SAFA and Bafana Bafana’s technical team overlooked a crucial detail, as the Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder's issues have now put them in serious trouble with FIFA.
According to SABC Sport, FIFA has since sent official communication confirming the opening of a disciplinary case against the federation over the incident.
FIFA rule indicts Bafana Bafana
Several South African football fans have been in a sad mood since the emergence of the news that FIFA has opened a disciplinary case against Bafana Bafana.
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Questions have been raised by other countries in Group C, especially by bitter rivals Nigeria, concerning the judgment over the issue, while FIFA has kept silent on the situation.
There were earlier reports that FIFA had decided not to take action against South Africa on the issue, but those reports have been debunked with the new update on Thursday, September 18, 2025.
Chapter 2, Article 19, Fielding an Ineligible Player, Number 3, Page 170 of the FIFA Legal Handbook 2025 states that, “The Disciplinary Committee may act ex officio.”
This rule gives FIFA the right to act even if the previous condition, which stated that there was no protest from Lesotho within the stipulated 24 hours, was not met.
Nigeria has also suffered the same fate before, when they fielded an ineligible player against Algeria in 2017. Even without a protest, the Super Eagles had their points deducted.
Contrary to the report that Lesotho failed to submit a complaint to FIFA after they became aware of the issue, the Secretary-General of the nation's FA, Mokhosi Mohapi, squashed the report by confirming that the LFA had sent an official complaint to the World Football governing body.
“The key issue is whether a rule was breached. If that’s the case, then we have every right to lodge a protest and claim the points. We became aware of Mokoena’s cautions and have already submitted a formal inquiry to both CAF and FIFA,” he said.
“There is no such thing as a 24-hour deadline. If our protest is valid, FIFA will review it, and we are now waiting for their official response.”
Bafana move up on FIFA ranking
Briefly News earlier reported that Bafana Bafana moved up on the latest FIFA ranking after their recent performance in the last international break.
South Africa were ranked tenth in the last ranking, but broke new ground in the recent list, while Nigeria dropped places.
Source: Briefly News
