FIFA has officially sanctioned South Africa for fielding an unqualified player in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
Football’s world governing body has ruled that South Africa has forfeited the game against Lesotho 3-0 for fielding Teboho Mokoena in a game played on March 21, 2025.
Aside having three points deducted from its tally in the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, South Africa Football Association has been fined a sum of 9,000 Pounds Sterling while Mokoena has been issued a warning by FIFA.
“The parties were notified of the terms of the Fifa Disciplinary Committee’s decision today. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the FDC, they have ten days in which to request a motivated decision, which, if requested, would subsequently be published on legal.fifa.com.”
“The forfeiture decision remains subject to a potential appeal before the FIFA Appeal Committee” the statement from FIFA read.
The ruling means that South Africa have 14 points with Nigeria ranked third in Group C in the African World Cup qualifiers have 11 points ahead of the final round of qualification games.
Scroll down to view a full breakdown of the standings in Group C ahead of South Africa’s games against Zimbabwe and Rwanda on October 10 and 14 respectively.
