Could Bafana’s World Cup bid be derailed by Mokoena mix-up?

Bafana Bafana’s bid to qualify for the 2026 Fifa World Cup was potentially thrown into disarray on Tuesday, with reports suggesting midfielder Teboho Mokoena was not eligible to play in Friday’s Group C win over Lesotho.

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The Sundowns midfielder started the game against Lesotho, even though he had already picked up two yellow cards in Group C up to that point.

Should Mokoena have played for Bafana?

According to Fifa World Cup qualifying rules, this appears to mean Mokoena should have served a one-match ban against Lesotho.

“If players or team officials receive two cautions in one match (in matches decided by penalties) or in two different matches of the competition, they will be automatically suspended from their team’s subsequent match,” reads rule 9.3.

Fifa’s punishment for fielding an ineligible player could well lead to Bafana forfeiting a 3-0 defeat to Lesotho in terms of Friday’s match. That would leave their dominant position in World Cup qualifying Group C in tatters, even if they beat Benin in the Ivory Coast on Tuesday evening.

A way out?

Other reports have suggested that Bafana could get away with their indiscretion if the Lesotho FA did not report the matter to Fifa within 24 hours.

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But the whole saga is surely also an unwanted sideshow for Hugo Broos and his side just a couple of hours before a crucial game against Benin.

If this incident does upset Bafana’s World Cup hopes, it would not be the first time they have fallen foul of failing to observe the rules.

In Mbombela in October 2011, Bafana’s players and head coach Pitso Mosimane celebrated a goalless home draw with Sierra Leone, thinking it was enough to qualify them for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. As it turned out, however, they had not read the rules properly and they had not qualified at all.