World football governing body FIFA will soon rule on the matter concerning South Africa fielding an ineligible player in a 2026 World Cup qualifier.
In March, South Africa beat Lesotho 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier while parading Teboho Mokoena, who was previously on two bookings and ought not to play this game.
FIFA will soon decide on the case according to National Sports Commission (NSC) Chairman, Shehu Dikko, who also expressed confidence South Africa will be docked three crucial points and three goals for this blunder.
“With the way things are, it’s still in our hands, depending on the outcome of the disciplinary decision that’s expected soon,” Shehu Dikko said in an interview with UK-based Nigerian journalist Austin Okon-Akpan.
“If the decision goes as everyone expects and we ourselves have faced a similar fate before it means we can still control our own future. If we win our remaining four games, we can make it.
“The rules are the rules; it’s not about Africa, it’s FIFA. There are no two ways about it. Otherwise, anyone could field a player and then say it was a simple error.”
South Africa currently lead the qualifying group with 13 points, six points clear of Nigeria with only the group winners guaranteed automatic passage to next year’s World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
