South Africa’s World Cup hopes dent as Nigeria push for point deduction

By Dayo Awoniyi

Top Nigerian football officials have vowed to take action against South Africa for breaching World Cup qualifying rules, a move that could result in a three-point deduction for the Bafana Bafana.

The officials, speaking to the Super Eagles players at their hotel after Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Zimbabwe, assured them that they would seek the forfeiture of three points and three goals from South Africa.

This is due to their fielding of a suspended player, Teboho Mokoena, in their qualifier against Lesotho.

According to the officials, South Africa’s actions were a clear violation of the World Cup qualifying regulations.

“We will ensure South Africa loses three points for playing a suspended player, as this is against the competition’s rules,” one official stated.

The officials also recalled a similar incident involving Nigeria, where FIFA sanctioned the country for a similar offense on the road to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

“We were penalized by FIFA for the same issue during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers,” they added.

A potential three-point deduction would have significant consequences for South Africa, who currently lead Group C with 13 points.

A loss of those three points would narrow their lead to just two points, with Rwanda and Benin hot on their heels.