SAFA demands written explanation on judgment
Former Super Eagles Manager, Gernot Rohr, insists that South Africa still has the upper hand in the race for the 2026 World Cup despite losing three points and three goals for fielding an ineligible player in their qualifying game against Lesotho, in March this year.
FIFA on Monday deducted three points from the Bafana Bafana and awarded three goals against them for fielding midfielder Teboho Mokoena in a Group C game against Lesotho.
Although the development gave the Nigerian campaign a new impetus in the fight to return to the World Cup after missing the 2022 edition in Qatar, the ball is still in South Africa’s half of the field as their remaining two games against Rwanda and Zimbabwe will be played on their home soil.
With the points deduction, South Africa lost their number one position in Group C to Rohr’s Benin Republic on goals difference, as both are tied on 14 points. Nigeria and Rwanda are further down the log on 11 points each, while Lesotho and Zimbabwe bring the rear with nine points and four respectively.
“We’ll approach the last two matchdays with great humility. We still have two extremely tough matches, away to Rwanda and Nigeria,” Rohr said, according to Foot-Africa.
“South Africa will play twice at home. In fact, out of their ten matches, they would have played seven in South Africa. As for us, for the past two and a half years, we haven’t played a single game in Benin. All our matches have been away.”
South Africa will play Zimbabwe at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, where they will be designated as the away team. They then round off their campaign against Rwanda in Mbombela.
A win in any of the games and one draw will almost certainly hand the Bafana Bafana the World Cup ticket on 18 points as Nigeria’s total points if they win the two matches will be 17 points. Nigeria’s two games are against Lesotho and Benin Republic.
Meanwhile, the South Africa Football Association (SAFA) has confirmed that it has requested written reasons for the judgment in the Mokoena case and intends to lodge a formal appeal with the FIFA Appeals Committee.
In a statement on Monday, SAFA said that it was “deeply disappointed with this unprecedented outcome noting that it was delivered by a single-member panel without reasons, and without affording the association an opportunity to present legal arguments.” Despite the outcome, SAFA emphasised its continued commitment to supporting Bafana Bafana in their qualification campaign.
“The players and the technical team have worked extremely hard to reach this stage, and we remain focused on ensuring that they secure maximum points in the matches ahead.
“We apologise to the nation for this administrative oversight and will reflect on the steps to take at the conclusion of our qualifying campaign.
“Finally, we call on all South Africans to rally behind the team during this final and crucial stage of the qualifiers.”
