The chief executive of South Africa Football Association (SAFA) Lydia Monyepao has detailed what Bafana Bafana must do to qualify for the 2026 World Cup with FIFA set to deduct three points and three goals from their tally for fielding an ineligible player, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
FIFA has officially charged South Africa for fielding Teboho Mokoena in the 2-0 win over Lesotho, where in actually terms he was supposed to be suspended for picking up two yellow cards in previous games.
“We have received communication from Fifa about an investigation that they have launched in terms of the Lesotho match where Teboho Mokoena was fielded, she said.
She went ahead to explain their lack of concerns when it comes to losing three points, because all they need to do is to winning their remaining two games, and it will be enough to see them go through as group winners with their current position as the group leaders.
The Fifa disciplinary code reads: “If a team fields a player who is not eligible to participate (due to suspension, registration issues, nationality, etc.), the match is automatically forfeited. The default result is a 3-0 loss, unless the actual result was even more disadvantageous to the offending team.”
“We are not really worried [about potentially being docked points]. Our focus right now is to ensure that Bafana Bafana gets maximum points, come October. Because whatever happens, be it docking of points or whatever, if we get six points come October nothing else will matter,” the CEO stated.
