FIFA Docks South Africa Three Points, Awards Lesotho Win

FIFA has deducted three points from South Africa and forfeited their March World Cup qualifying win over Lesotho after finding midfielder Teboho Mokoena was ineligible because he had accumulated two yellow cards and should have been suspended. The match has been awarded to Lesotho 3-0, SAFA has been fined CHF10,000 and Mokoena received a formal warning. FIFA allows SAFA ten days to request a motivated decision and to appeal to the FIFA Appeal Committee. The ruling leaves Benin top of CAF Group C on goal difference with South Africa level on 14 points and gives Nigeria and Rwanda renewed hopes; only the group winner qualifies directly for the 2026 World Cup while the runner-up goes to playoffs. Coach Hugo Broos and other officials criticised the delayed resolution — the eligibility case was decided nearly seven months after the match — and the decision has been described as an embarrassment for SAFA and its president, Patrice Motsepe.