FIFA Puts South Africa’s World Cup Qualifying Plans on Hold: What’s Happening?

The African World Cup qualifiers are quite confusing in international football. CAF has had difficulties scheduling match dates, and FIFA’s recent decisions are adding to the confusion.

Details: In March, South Africa played Lesotho in a qualifying match, winning with goals from Relebohile Mofokeng and Jayden Adams. However, Teboho Mokoena played in that match despite being suspended for accumulating yellow cards.

According to the rules, South Africa should receive a forfeit loss with a score of 0-3. Yet, more than five months later, no official decision has been announced. FIFA’s disciplinary committee has not responded to inquiries from Reuters regarding the delay or when a decision might be made.

Quote: “It’s abnormal that we still don’t know the points situation in the standings ahead of our games this week. It’s very strange. Normally, South Africa should lose three points, and those points should be awarded to Lesotho. But nobody understands why FIFA hasn’t made this decision,” said Gernot Rohr, head coach of Benin, currently in second place behind South Africa, in an interview with Reuters.