{"id":31279,"date":"2025-09-29T17:02:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T15:02:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=31279"},"modified":"2026-03-12T09:48:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T07:48:00","slug":"fifa-awards-3-0-loss-deducts-points-from-bafana-bafana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/fifa-awards-3-0-loss-deducts-points-from-bafana-bafana\/","title":{"rendered":"FIFA Awards 3-0 Loss, Deducts Points From Bafana Bafana in Teboho Mokoena Case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The South African Football Association (SAFA) has been hit with sanctions from FIFA following the ineligibility of midfielder Teboho Mokoena in the recent 2026 FIFA World Cup preliminary match against Lesotho on 21 March 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-match-declared-forfeit\">Match Declared Forfeit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The FIFA Disciplinary Committee ruled that South Africa had breached Article 19 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) and Article 14 of the World Cup 2026 Preliminary Competition Regulations by fielding Mokoena, who was deemed ineligible to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a result, the fixture has been awarded 3-0 in favour of Lesotho, overturning South Africa\u2019s on-field result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to the forfeit, SAFA has been ordered to pay a fine of CHF 10,000 to FIFA.<br>Mokoena himself was issued with a formal warning but will face no further suspension at this stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-884144030\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-appeal-window-open\">Appeal Window Open<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The parties were notified of the ruling, and SAFA has ten days to request a motivated decision. If lodged, the full reasoning behind the sanctions will be published on FIFA\u2019s legal website. SAFA also has the right to appeal to the FIFA Appeal Committee, although the forfeit ruling remains binding until overturned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udd34 Breaking. <br><br>FIFA deduct points from Bafana Bafana following the Teboho Mokoena ineligibility investigation. <br><br>Full statement below. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/sabcsport411?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#sabcsport411<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/58hyARYmNW\">pic.twitter.com\/58hyARYmNW<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Mazola J. Molefe (@superjourno) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/superjourno\/status\/1972664408674357491?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">September 29, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-impact-on-group-c-standings\">Impact on Group C Standings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The sanction has had an immediate impact on Group C of the African qualifiers, with South Africa losing valuable points in a tight race for top spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-updated-group-c-log\">Updated Group C Log<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Benin<\/strong> \u2013 14 pts (+4)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>South Africa<\/strong> \u2013 14 pts (+3)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Nigeria<\/strong> \u2013 11 pts (+2)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rwanda<\/strong> \u2013 11 pts (0)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lesotho<\/strong> \u2013 9 pts (-3)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Zimbabwe<\/strong> \u2013 4 pts<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The deduction now means Bafana Bafana are level on points with Benin, but trail on goal difference, dropping them to second place. With Nigeria and Rwanda still within striking distance, the group remains wide open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udea8 \ud835\udde8\ud835\udde3\ud835\uddd7\ud835\uddd4\ud835\udde7\ud835\uddd8\ud835\uddd7 \ud835\uddda\ud835\udde5\ud835\udde2\ud835\udde8\ud835\udde3 \ud835\uddd6 \ud835\udddf\ud835\udde2\ud835\uddda <br><br>1) \ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddef Benin &#8211; 14 pts +4<br>2) \ud83c\uddff\ud83c\udde6 South Africa &#8211; 14 pts +3<br>3) \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddec Nigeria &#8211; 11 pts +2<br>4) \ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\uddfc Rwanda &#8211; 11 pts +0<br>5) \ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddf8 Lesotho &#8211; 9 pts -3<br>6) \ud83c\uddff\ud83c\uddfc Zimbabwe &#8211; 4 pts<br><br>Tie breakers:<br>\u25aa\ufe0f Goal difference<br>\u25aa\ufe0f Goals scored<br>\u25aa\ufe0f Head-to-head <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/D78nJnJ1T6\">pic.twitter.com\/D78nJnJ1T6<\/a><\/p>&mdash; iDiski Times (@iDiskiTimes) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/iDiskiTimes\/status\/1972664230080860181?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">September 29, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-718006422\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-this-means-for-bafana-bafana\">What This Means for Bafana Bafana<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The ruling is a major blow to South Africa\u2019s qualification hopes, as every point counts in the closely contested group. <a href=\"https:\/\/inside.fifa.com\/legal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SAFA<\/a> must now decide whether to appeal the sanction while the team prepares for their remaining fixtures under added pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/bafana-bafana-world-cup-dream-in-jeopardy-over-mokoena-suspension\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bafana Bafana World Cup Dream in Jeopardy Over Mokoena Suspension<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The South African Football Association (SAFA) has been hit with sanctions from FIFA following the ineligibility of midfielder Teboho Mokoena in the recent 2026 FIFA World Cup preliminary match against Lesotho on 21 March 2025. Match Declared Forfeit The FIFA Disciplinary Committee ruled that South Africa had breached Article 19 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":31281,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"The South African Football Association (SAFA) has been hit with sanctions from FIFA following the ineligibility of midfielder Teboho Mokoena in the recent 2026...","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[286,11121,284,11108,9541],"class_list":{"0":"post-31279","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-bafana-bafana","10":"tag-fifa-world-cup-qualifiers","11":"tag-football-news","12":"tag-latest-sports-news","13":"tag-safa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31279"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31286,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31279\/revisions\/31286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}