The South African Football Association (SAFA) has said it will lodge a formal appeal against the three-point deduction and fine sanctioned against it by FIFA for fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, during their 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho in March.
FIFA punished South Africa, the leaders of qualifying Group C, which also includes Nigeria and the Benin Republic, with three points on Monday.
On March 21, FIFA gave Lesotho a 3-0 victory in the Group C qualification. After receiving two yellow cards in the group stages, Bafana fielded Mokoena, who was supposed to be suspended, despite winning the game 2-0 at first.
Their six-point lead over Nigeria will be reduced to three points as a result of the verdict, and the Benin Republic will also win on goal differential.
“As SAFA, we are deeply disappointed with this unprecedented outcome, noting that it was delivered by a single-member panel without reasons and without affording the association an opportunity to present legal arguments,” SAFA said in a statement.
“The association confirms that we have requested written reasons for the judgment and intend to lodge a formal appeal with the FIFA Appeals Committee within the prescribed 10-day period under FIFA’s disciplinary rules.”
South Africa needs to defeat Lesotho and Zimbabwe in its final two games in October before they can prepare their appeal and wait for the result.
To maintain their prospects, the Benin Republic, the team most likely to gain from the ruling, will host Rwanda in their last match before traveling to Nigeria, who also have to defeat Zimbabwe in their penultimate match.
