W’Cup qualifiers: South Africa risk points deduction for fielding ineligible player

Group C leaders in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Africa qualifiers, South Africa, are at the risk of losing three points in the race for the automatic spot in the group after fielding an ineligible player during their 2-0 win over Lesotho last Friday.

The player in question is midfielder Teboho Mokoena who accumulated two yellow cards in the series before their last game against Lesotho.

Mokoena was first booked in the qualifying series during their 2-1 home win over the Benin Republic in November 2023. He was cautioned in the 54th minute of the game.

The Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder was also booked in the 52nd minute during their 3-1 win over Zimbabwe in June 2024.

He was then named in their starting lineup during their last game against Lesotho, playing 82 minutes before he was replaced by Thalente Mbatha.

According to FIFA World Cup qualifying rules, a player is ineligible to play a subsequent match after accumulating two yellow cards.

“If players or team officials receive two cautions in one match (in matches decided by penalties) or in two different matches of the competition, they will be automatically suspended from their team’s subsequent match,” FIFA stated in the rule book.

However, a protest from Nigeria or Lesotho, who sit four points behind the South Africans in the group could also be disregarded by FIFA if it had not been submitted at the stipulated time.

“Protests regarding the eligibility of players selected for matches in the preliminary competition shall be submitted in writing to the FIFA Match Commissioner within two hours of the match in question and followed up with a full written report, including a copy of the original protest, to be submitted to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee in accordance with the applicable provisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and by email to [email protected] within 24 hours of the end of the match and shall be dealt with by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, otherwise they will be disregarded,” FIFA also stipulated.

If the protest is successful, Lesotho, who are currently fifth in the group with five points will be awarded three points which would take them to eight points in the standings while Nigeria will stand a good chance of overtaking the South Africans, depending on the results of Tuesday’s matches.

South Africa who play the Benin Republic in Abidjan are currently top of the group with 10 points. The Benin Republic are second with eight points followed by Rwanda with seven points while Nigeria are fourth with six points after five matches.