S’Africa risk points deduction for fielding ineligible player in World Cup qualifier

South Africa could lose three points for fielding a potentially ineligible player in their FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho last week.

The Bafana Bafana, who are in Group C with Nigeria and four others, fielded Teboho Mokoena, a key figure in the national team, in their 2-0 victory over Lesotho.

The victory moved Hugo Broos’s side to the top of the group with ten points.

Mokoena had picked up a yellow card on matchday one against Benin Republic, before picking the second on matchday four against Zimbabwe.

According to Article 67 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, a player is ineligible to play the next match if he accumulates two yellow cards from previous games.

“If a person receives a caution in two separate matches of the same FIFA competition, they are automatically suspended from the next match. Such suspensions must be served before any other suspension,” the disciplinary code reads.

However, Mokoena started the match for Bafana Bafana, and the team won 2-0.

This error has led to concern in South Africa, with other nations in the group, especially Nigeria, looking to both FIFA and CAF, the continental football governing body, for possible punishment for the South Africans.

Neither CAF nor FIFA has reacted to the development.

A three-point deduction for South Africa would boost the chances of the Benin Republic and the Super Eagles grabbing the automatic qualification ticket in Group C.

In the event of points deduction, South Africa would drop to third spot with seven points, while Benin and Lesotho would be joint-first on eight points. Nigeria would also see a reduction in their deficit from the top spot, from four to two points, thus reducing the herculean task ahead of Eric Chelle’s side.

Nigeria will face Zimbabwe at the Godswill Akpabio stadium on Tuesday in matchday six, with Benin simultaneously playing host to South Africa in a top-of-the-table clash.

In 2017, FIFA deducted three points from the Super Eagles’ accumulated points for fielding a suspended Shehu Abdullahi in one of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers matches. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) was also fined the sum of CHF 6,000 for the administrative error. Nigeria eventually qualified for the 2018 World Cup despite the penalty.