Jomo Sono Demands Sackings After Bafana Bafana’s World Cup Points Deduction Scandal

Jomo Sono Demands Sackings After Bafana Bafana’s World Cup Points Deduction Scandal

  • Jomo Sono has aired his views concerning the South Africa national team's sanction from FIFA after an error in one of Bafana Bafana's World Cup qualifiers
  • The Orlando Pirates legend is not happy with Bafana Bafana being docked three points for an error that could've been avoided
  • The SA football icon's submission sparked debate amongst Bafana Bafana supporters on social media

South African football legend Jomo Sono has joined the public to comment on the growing calls for accountability following an administrative blunder that cost Bafana Bafana three crucial points in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Teboho Mokoena, South Africa, Lesotho, FIFA World Cup.
Teboho Mokoena featured in South Africa's win over Lesotho in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers despite being ineligible to play. Photo: Visionhaus
Source: Getty Images

FIFA sanctioned South Africa earlier this week after it emerged that Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Teboho Mokoena had been fielded against Lesotho in March despite being suspended for the match due to card accumulation.

The punishment saw Bafana Bafana drop from the top of their World Cup qualifying Group C, slipping from 17 to 14 points, and are now level with the Benin Republic but trailing on goal difference, losing their edge in the race for a direct spot at the prestigious football competition next year.

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Sono calls for action from SAFA

Sono called on the South African Football Association to take action against those responsible and who are in charge of the team in that aspect.

The Bafana Bafana legend suggested that the person responsible might not know much about the rules of the game, but must still be held accountable for the mistake.

“SAFA must take action against whoever is responsible, because it’s clear that the person doesn’t understand the rules of the game,” Sono told KickOff.
“I don’t know who it is, but that individual must be held accountable. It’s obviously not the coach, because he doesn’t handle player bookings. There must be someone in management whose job it is to track these things.”
Jomo Sono, Bafana Bafana, SAFA, FIFA.
Jomo Sono wants action taken by SAFA after Bafana Bafana's FIFA sanctions. Photo: Darren Stewart
Source: Getty Images

The Orlando Pirates legend opened up about some of the things that could cause problems in the technical team of the national team.

“Sometimes these problems come from having unnecessary people sitting on the bench, people whose roles are unclear and who contribute nothing. You look at them and wonder what exactly they are doing in the technical team,” he added.

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Bafana Bafana fans also aired their thoughts about Sono's declaration for actions to be taken on social media.

Kenny said:

"He's speaking sense but there's no accountability in that organisation. They told us they are not worried because we will get 6pts."

Bongani Madevu wrote:

"Are we saying Teboho didn't know that he is on yellow and remind the team where is his integrity."

ThembaMdumela implied:

"Even the player himself was very reckless. He knew that situation, he must take responsibility."

Brooklyn shared:

"The technical staff at Bafana is one of the most relaxed staff I've ever seen we once celebrated a draw during Pitso's days at Bafana Bafana only to be humbled by the rules. They getting paid for nothing."

Ayi_ayanda reacted:

"That goes without saying but it's a known fact (public secret) that SAFA operates in its own way, obviously not so great we've given up on it since it's never shaken."

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SACricketLover1 added:

"There has to be accountability. Players shouldn’t have to think about this stuff. There are people employed to think about this stuff and they failed."

Bafana Bafana move up in FIFA rankings

Briefly News also reported that Bafana Bafana had broken new ground in the latest FIFA ranking after avoiding defeat in their World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Nigeria during the last international break.

South Africa were ranked tenth in the last FIFA ranking, but they’ve now moved up in the new list released by the football governing body.

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Raphael Abiola avatar

Raphael Abiola (Sports editor) Raphael Abiola is a Nigerian Sports Journalist with over seven years of experience. He obtained a B.Tech degree in Computer Science from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, in 2015. Raphael previously worked as a football editor at Stakegains (2016-2018) and a content editor with Opera News Nigeria (2018-2023). Raphael then worked as an Editor for the Local Desk at Sports Brief (2023-2024). Reach him via email at raphael.abiola@sportsbrief.com.