Bafana Bafana have been left in panic mode following reports that they fielded a suspended player in their win over Lesotho last Friday.
South Africa secured a 2-0 win over Lesotho to move top of their World Cup qualifying group with 10 points from five matches, two ahead of Benin, three better than Rwanda, while Nigeria have six points.
Lesotho, meanwhile, have five points following the defeat at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.
However, it has now emerged that Bafana Bafana fielded Teboho Mokoena when he should have sat out the match as he was suspended.
When did Mokoena get suspended?
Mokoena received a yellow card during Bafana Bafana’s 2-1 home win against Benin on November 18, 2023 and another one as South Africa came from behind to beat Zimbabwe 3-1 in Bloemfontein, both in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
That effectively ruled him out of last Friday’s match given cards received in FIFA matches to not spill over into other competitions like Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
However, the Mamelodi Sundowns man was played and put in an impressive display as Relobohile Mofokeng and Jayden Adams scored to hand Hugo Broos’ men a 2-0 victory.
Now, four days after the match, it has been revealed that Bafana Bafana made a major blunder that could land them in hot soup and lead to points deductions.
There is hope for Bafana Bafana but…
As per the rules, when a team fields an ineligible player, the aggrieved party has to notify the match commissioner two hours after the match and a compliant has to be filed at FIFA within 24 hours.
However, in what could give Bafana Bafana a glimmer of hope, Lesotho did not file a complaint within the 24 hours but indicated on Tuesday that they have sent a query to FIFA with the Nigeria Football Federation also doing the same, asking the world football governing body to dock South Africa three points.
The matter now lies in the hands of FIFA and South Africa will be waiting to know if they will be let off the hook, given the late filing of the complaint, or if there is any punishment.
Mokoena was not in the starting XI as Bafana Bafana faced Benin away in their sixth group match where victory would have taken them to 13 points.
