Official: South Africa World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho were sentenced to loss for using suspended players and fined 10,000 francs

Hupu, September 30th, FIFA Discipline Committee announced that the South African Football Association (SAFA) violated Article 19 of the FIFA Discipline Regulations and Article 14 of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers for sending illegal player Teboho Mokona to the court in the World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho on March 21, 2025 (the players have suspended a cumulative yellow cards before the game).

Disciplinary Committee determined that South Africa's team abstained from the game, and the result of the game was deemed 0-3. Meanwhile, the South African Football Association was fined CHF 10,000, while Tebojo Mokona himself received a warning. This penalty caused the South African national team to fall to second in the group due to a goal difference disadvantage in the Group C standings, second only to Benin.