South Africa could face a potential points deduction for fielding an unqualified player in their FIFA World Cup qualifier against Lesotho on Friday, March 21.

The Bafana Bafana defeated Lesotho 2-0 at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, moving to the top of Group C with 10 points after five games.

Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Teboho Mokoena, who had accumulated two yellow cards during the qualifying series, played in the game for 82 minutes before being substituted.

Mokoena received his first booking in the qualifiers during South Africa's 2-1 home win against Benin Republic in November 2023, with the booking occurring in the 54th minute.

His second yellow card was issued during South Africa's 3-1 victory against Zimbabwe in June 2024. According to FIFA regulations, a player is ineligible to play in the next match after receiving two yellow cards in the World Cup qualifiers.

“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,” FIFA states in its rule book.

Despite this, a potential complaint or protest from Nigeria or Lesotho could be dismissed due to delays in lodging the complaint.

“Protests regarding the eligibility of players selected for matches in the preliminary competition shall be submitted in writing to the FIFA Match Commissioner within two hours of the match in question and followed up with a full written report, including a copy of the original protest, to be submitted to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee in accordance with the applicable provisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and by email to qualifiers@fifa.org within 24 hours of the end of the match; otherwise, they will be disregarded,” FIFA stipulates.

Should South Africa face a points deduction, the three points would be awarded to Lesotho, giving Nigeria a significant opportunity to close the gap between themselves and South Africa to just one point.

WDN