World football governing body FIFA have docked three points from Bafana Bafana for illegally fielding Teboho Mokoena in a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Lesotho in March.
Before that match, Mokoena had received two yellow cards, but he took part in the match South Africa won 2-0.
With FIFA overturning that result and awarding Lesotho a 3-0 win, that pulled Bafana down from top spot to second as they now have 14 points, the same as log leaders Benin, who enjoy a superior goal difference.
That has left third-placed Nigeria three points behind the leading pack with a chance to claim top spot, and former Super Eagles defender Sam Sodje has blasted his former team for celebrating the sanctions on Bafana.
What Sodje said
“It’s nice to see FIFA doing what they have to do. For South Africa, they did break the rules, and they’ve taken three points off them. I think that’s normal. What’s surprising now is Nigerians [are] seeing this as big news. I think it’s embarrassing,” Sodje said as per Soccer Laduma.
“I think we’ve put ourselves in a situation where we had to depend on taken-off South Africa to qualify. If we think we have a chance—I don’t think we do—if we have any slim chance… hopefully we can earn it on the pitch.
“With the squad we have, with the kind of players we have in Nigeria, a big country like Nigeria, [a] footballing nation [like Nigeria] shouldn’t be going into the discussion about celebrating three points being taken off South Africa.”
Unanswered questions treaten Bafana’s work
Questions surround the Mokoena saga as the situation threatens to derail Bafana’s efforts to qualify for the World Cup.
Team manager Vincent Tseka’s failure to note that Mokoena had received two yellow cards going into the Lesotho match invites scrutiny if he is fit for his job.
The player himself could not record the number of times he was booked, which might have helped had he alerted the technical team.
What next?
SAFA have appealed to FIFA, contesting the sanctions imposed on them, and it is to be seen if they will be successful in their arguments.
But in the meantime, Bafana are now preparing for their final two matches of Group C against Zimbabwe and Rwanda, which have been made must-wins.
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