National Teams
Pressure mounts on FIFA as South Africans join calls for ruling on Mokoena ineligibility
By Dayo Awoniyi
The controversy surrounding South Africa’s use of an ineligible player in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers has escalated, with calls for a ruling now coming from within the country itself.
At the center of the storm is midfielder Teboho Mokoena, who played in Bafana Bafana’s 2–0 win over Lesotho in Polokwane last March despite being suspended after collecting two yellow cards earlier in the campaign.
South Africa admitted the blunder, but six months on, FIFA has yet to deliver a verdict. The delay has fueled accusations of bias, with critics noting that football’s world governing body has ruled swiftly in similar cases in Europe, Asia, and South America.
The suspicion has deepened because the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is currently led by a South African, while Mokoena plays for Mamelodi Sundowns, the club owned by CAF president Patrice Motsepe.
Writing in Sowetan, sports editor Nkareng Matshe warned that FIFA’s silence is damaging both the competition and South Africa’s credibility.
“We have already admitted to the error, and precedence dictates that we be punished and stripped of three points,” Matshe wrote.
“FIFA’s delay in making a ruling should not be treated as a cause for celebration. It only fuels conspiracy theories and unfairly smears the team.”
Matshe added that Hugo Broos’s side, who claimed bronze at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, could still qualify for the World Cup on merit.
“Bafana don’t need FIFA’s helping hand to qualify. They are strong enough to get over the line on merit,” he insisted.
But critics across Group C argue that FIFA’s inaction has warped the competition. Benin Republic coach Gernot Rohr told Reuters:
“It is not normal that we don’t know the situation about the points on the log table before our games. Normally, South Africa should lose three points. FIFA should now very quickly give the decision.”
Rohr speaks from experience: in 2018, while managing Nigeria, his team was docked a point after fielding suspended defender Shehu Abdullahi against Algeria.
FIFA’s disciplinary code states that any team fielding an ineligible player forfeits the match, with opponents awarded a 3–0 win unless the original result was more favorable. South Africa, however, argue that because Lesotho did not file an official protest, the result should stand.
As things stand, Bafana Bafana top Group C with 17 points, three ahead of Benin and six clear of Nigeria. But a three-point deduction could flip the standings and reignite the race for the group’s sole automatic ticket with just two games left.
The uncertainty casts a shadow over October’s fixtures, with South Africa set to face eliminated Zimbabwe at a neutral venue—a situation critics say further tilts the competition.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has also voiced its frustration as NFF communications director Dr. Ademola Olajire told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the body is still waiting for clarity from FIFA.
For now, South Africa’s bid for a first World Cup appearance since 2010 hangs in limbo. Their campaign remains alive, but so does the storm of controversy surrounding Mokoena’s ineligible appearance.
