Mokoena saga: Bafana likely 'off the hook'

Fifa not mentioning matter means SA’s escape – lawyer

Sports lawyer Mandla Tshabalala believes Bafana Bafana are off the hook after they weren't included in Fifa's recent 2026 World Cup qualifiers disciplinary and ethics report after fielding Teboho Mokoena when he was a defaulter. 

On Friday, Fifa released a disciplinary overview report of the recent 2026 qualifiers, as is the norm after every Fifa break, and of the 41 matches included in the report, Bafana's game against Lesotho, where Mokoena was erroneously fielded, wasn't listed.

The report covers the period from July 1 last year and June this year. Bafana erroneously used Mokoena in their 2-0 victory over Lesotho in Polokwane in March when he should have served an automatic one-game ban after accumulating two yellows in the previous games of Group C of the CAF qualifiers.

“We can safely say Bafana are safe because their matter would have fallen under a protest, meaning someone needed to protest the fielding of ineligible players, and they didn't protest,” Tshabalala told Sowetan on Tuesday.

“There's a high possibility that Fifa isn't even considering the matter at all because no one followed proper processes of lodging a complaint. The Bafana game was in March and all the investigations were the complaints up until June 2005. So, Bafana should have been included in the report, if Fifa wanted to sanction them. I really believe we are off the hook.”

Bafana top Group C with 17 points, three ahead of second-placed Benin, with two rounds of fixtures left. While Bafana coach Hugo Broos has maintained that, because Lesotho didn't protest the fielding of Mokoena, Fifa shouldn't dock them points.

We can safely say Bafana are safe because their matter would have fallen under a protest, meaning someone needed to protest the fielding of ineligible players, and they didn't protest.

SA’s pool opponent – especially Nigeria and Benin – had pressurised the world football governing body to do so.

Meanwhile, a few hours before last week’s 1-all draw against Nigeria at Free State Stadium, Fifa dropped a hint Bafana were not going to be punished, writing on their official X page that SA would qualify for the World Cup if they beat the Super Eagles and Benin fail to beat Lesotho in a game played later on the day.

But there hasn’t been an official word from Fifa, despite Bafana’s group opponents repeatedly asking that the matter be finalised.

Lesotho, who sent a query when the deadline for protest had elapsed, have not had their query acknowledged with an official reply, while it is unclear if Nigeria and Rwanda have sent official complaints on the Mokoena saga.

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