The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has penalized the South African Football Association (SAFA) for using an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, in the 2026 FIFA World Cup preliminary qualifier against Lesotho on March 21, 2025.
FIFA stated that SAFA violated Article 19 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and Article 14 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Preliminary Competition Regulations.
Consequently, the match has been awarded to Lesotho with a 3-0 scoreline.
In addition, SAFA has been fined CHF 10,000, while Mokoena has been handed an official warning.
The ruling, which was communicated to the parties today, allows them ten days to request a detailed decision that will later be published on legal.fifa.com.
The decision can also be appealed before the FIFA Appeal Committee.
Before the sanction, Hugo Broos’ team led Group C of the qualifiers with 17 points from eight matches.
However, the forfeited result saw Benin move into first place after their initial three-point deficit was overturned.
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