2026 WCQ: FIFA Deducts Three Points from South Africa for Fielding Ineligible Player

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has penalised the South African Football Association (SAFA) for fielding ineligible midfielder Teboho Mokoena during the 2026 FIFA World Cup preliminary qualifier against Lesotho on March 21, 2025.

FIFA stated that SAFA’s action violated Article 19 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and Article 14 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Preliminary Competition Regulations. Consequently, the match has been forfeited and awarded to Lesotho with a 3-0 scoreline.

In addition to losing the match, SAFA has been fined CHF 10,000, while Mokoena has received an official warning.

FIFA confirmed that the decision was communicated to all parties today. SAFA has ten days to request a detailed, reasoned decision, which would later be published on legal.fifa.com. The ruling may still be appealed before the FIFA Appeal Committee.

Prior to the sanction, Hugo Broos’ men topped Group C of the World Cup qualifiers with 17 points from eight games. However, the three-point deduction has seen them drop behind Benin, who now lead the group after Bafana Bafana’s 2-0 win over Lesotho was overturned and recorded as a 0-3 defeat due to the administrative breach.

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