Nigeria legend Sunday Oliseh has warned that FIFA’s disciplinary hammer is hovering over South Africa after the Bafana Bafana fielded an ineligible player in a World Cup qualifier earlier this year.
The controversy centres on midfielder Teboho Mokoena, who picked up two yellow cards in previous qualifiers but still lined up against Lesotho in March.
Lesotho lodged an official protest, demanding South Africa be docked three points and handed a 3-0 defeat, as per FIFA regulations.
Five months on, FIFA has yet to announce a verdict. But Oliseh, a member of FIFA’s Technical Group, insists the silence doesn’t mean South Africa are off the hook.
“To the best of my knowledge South Africa is in trouble,” Oliseh said.
“The Football Association is responsible for ensuring that only eligible players are fielded. If a team fields an ineligible player and a valid protest is upheld, standard penalties include the forfeiture of the match.
“The result is typically overturned to a 3-0 defeat for the offending team, regardless of the actual score, resulting in the loss of three points for South Africa in this case and an award of three points to Lesotho.”
South Africa currently top Group C with 16 points from seven games, five ahead of Benin and six ahead of Nigeria.
A FIFA sanction would change the complexion of the group entirely, especially with three matches still to play.
Oliseh explained why the process has dragged on:
“Now some might wonder, because this is creating the buzz now, why it has taken so long (for FIFA to arrive at a decision). It is simply because the process can take weeks to months as FIFA may request additional information from the associations involved. Simple.”
South Africa’s legal team have argued that Mokoena served his suspension by sitting out the following game against Benin. But Lesotho insist SAFA had no right to decide when the ban applied.
FIFA’s ruling will determine whether Bafana Bafana keep or lose those points.
