Drama has hit Group C of the African 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers amid questions over the eligibility of South Africa midfielder Teboho Mokoena in their matchday five encounter against Lesotho.
According to the FIFA regulations, a player who is booked yellow twice in different matches must serve an automatic one-match suspension.
Mokoena received a yellow card in South Africa’s matchday two encounter against Benin and matchday four against Zimbabwe.
In accordance with FIFA’s disciplinary rules, this should have ruled him out of the all-critical match against Lesotho, which was played a few days ago.
However, he was fielded by South Africa, a move that has triggered fear of a violation of FIFA’s rules.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has spoken strongly on the matter, demanding that FIFA take action by docking three points from South Africa and granting three points to Lesotho.
If FIFA upholds the protest, it would have a grave implication on the Group C table where South Africa, Nigeria, Benin, and Rwanda are engaged in a keen struggle for qualification.
This scandal could have enormous consequences on South Africa’s World Cup dreams.
South Africa Football Association (SAFA) is yet to make an official comment, but the football world watches nervously as the drama unfolds, knowing that the final decision could step in during the qualification campaign.
The Bafana Bafana currently lead Group C with 10 points, closely followed by Benin (8 points) and Rwanda (7 points).
However, a points deduction could see them lose their top spot, making the race for automatic qualification even tighter.
Nigeria, sitting on 6 points, could also take advantage of any slip-up by South Africa. In such a competitive group, even the slightest setback could prove costly.
