Former FIFA Disciplinary Council member, Raymond Hack, has suggested that world football’s governing body might be deliberately taking extra time before deciding whether to sanction South Africa for allegedly fielding an ineligible player in their 2026 World Cup qualifier against Lesotho in March.
The dispute centers on Bafana Bafana’s use of Mokoena in the clash with Lesotho, despite him having accumulated two yellow cards in earlier fixtures, a situation that should have triggered an automatic one-match suspension.
Lesotho, however, wasted no time in protesting to FIFA, demanding that the result be overturned, with the game awarded to them as a 3-0 win and South Africa penalized with a three-point deduction.
Possible Implications of FIFA’s Verdict
If FIFA rules in Lesotho’s favor, Bafana Bafana would lose both the result and three points, while Lesotho would gain from the forfeiture.
Conversely, should the protest be dismissed, South Africa would maintain their current standing with 17 points from eight matches, keeping them on course to finish at the summit of the group.
Hack Raises Eyebrows at FIFA’s Delay
Speaking to SuperSport, Hack noted that FIFA’s delay in pronouncing judgment was unusual, hinting that the disciplinary committee could be weighing other factors.
“The allegation is that the player was ineligible to play, so he played for Bafana Bafana, against Lesotho.
“What happens if the player is ineligible, and it is found that he is ineligible, the team is automatically fined, number one, secondly, they forfeit the points, and thirdly, the matter can go to the disciplinary.
“The strange thing here is that no decision has come out of FIFA yet. Now there can only be two reasons for that.
“The first one is you have to have a protest. Lesotho didn’t protest, but somebody else lodged a complaint afterwards, so whether the disciplinary committee are looking at it on the basis of he was ineligible, but there wasn’t a protest, is something I can’t tell you at this stage.
“The normal situation is, if you are ineligible, you cannot play, you are suspended for the particular game. If you do play, the team forfeits the three points that they would have got, plus they lose three nil, and there’s an automatic fine in terms of the rules.
“So I can only assume that because there wasn’t a protest. The disciplinary committee may be looking at it slightly differently, as a complaint, but even if it is a complaint, the player was still ineligible to play.
“So even if you find it afterwards, it’s exactly the same as if you commit a crime and you’re not found, you’re not found immediately but you’re found at a later stage, they have the right to sanction you.
“Why it hasn’t come out yet, only FIFA knows. I find it very strange. I mean, you had an instance a couple of weeks ago between Manchester United and Grimsby, where it was found, there was an ineligible player. You got a decision probably four days later.”
