The South African Football Association will appeal a FIFA ruling that stripped the men’s national team of a win in 2026 World Cup qualifying over fielding an ineligible player, a statement from authorities said.
The FIFA judgment on Monday to overturn a 2-0 win against Lesotho in March as a 3-0 loss by default knocked South Africa off top spot with two rounds left in a qualifying group that ends in two weeks.
South African Football Association SAFA did not have the chance to make legal arguments to the single FIFA judge who decided the case, it claimed in a statement late Monday.
“As SAFA, we are deeply disappointed with this unprecedented outcome,” it said, while acknowledging Teboho Mokoena should not have played against Lesotho after getting yellow cards in two previous games. Two cautions activate a one-game ban.
“We apologize to the nation for this administrative oversight and will reflect on the steps to take at the conclusion of our qualifying campaign,” SAFA added.
Appeals procedure SAFA said it asked for written reasons explaining the ruling and plans to file a formal appeal to FIFA within the required 10 days of getting the document. A further appeal is possible at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
What FIFA rule says
FIFA’s rules state: “If a person receives a caution in two separate matches of the same FIFA competition, they are automatically suspended from the next match in that competition.
“If a team fields a player who is not eligible to participate (due to suspension, registration issues, nationality, etc.), the match is automatically forfeited.
"The default result is a 3-0 loss, unless the actual result was even more disadvantageous to the offending team.”
It is not the first time a country has been docked points for fielding an ineligible player in African World Cup qualification.
In the 2018 qualifiers, FIFA awarded Algeria a 3-0 win as a result of Nigeria fielding the ineligible Shehu Abdullahi, after their match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Ahead of the 2014 finals in Brazil, the Cape Verde Islands lost out on a playoff spot after using Fernando Varela in their shock group win against Tunisia. He was still suspended, so Tunisia went through to the playoffs instead of the islanders.
Current group positions
Benin now leads the group on goal difference, tied on points with South Africa. Nigeria and Rwanda trail by three points and all have two games to play.
Benin and Rwanda have never qualified for a World Cup, South Africa has not played at one since hosting the 2010 edition, and Nigeria last qualified in 2018.
Only the group winner on Oct. 14 will advance direct to the first 48-team World Cup being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, and take its place in the Dec. 5 tournament draw in Washington DC.
The runner-up in the group could advance to a four-team African playoffs bracket in November. That will decide which African team advances to the intercontinental playoffs bracket played in North America in March.
