Ex-FIFA Disciplinary Committee Member Details Why South Africa May Not Be Sanctioned
- FIFA has not issued an official ruling following an allegation that South Africa fielded an ineligible player
- Nigeria and Benin are calling for sanctions after Teboho Mokoena was fielded against Lesotho in the World Cup qualifiers
- A former FIFA disciplinary committee member, who is a South African, seems to be finding the delay unusual
A former member of the FIFA disciplinary committee, Raymond Hack, has explained why it is taking so long for South Africa to be sanctioned in the World Cup qualifiers.
More than six months after Bafana Bafana fielded an ineligible player against Lesotho, there is no official communication from the world's football governing body.
The CAF qualification group C has been thrown into uncertainty as fans are urging FIFA to dock South Africa three points - a move which could affect their World Cup dreams.
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Bafana Bafana are under heavy criticism, having fielded Teboho Mokoena in their 2-0 win over Lesotho back in March.
The Mamelodi Sundowns star was ineligible to feature in the encounter, having bagged yellow cards in two previous matches.
Speaking on the situation, South African attorney and sports administrator Hack, stated that it is strange that FIFA has yet to make its decision public.
He said on Super Sports per Daily Post:
"The allegation is that the player was ineligible to play, so he played for Bafana Bafana, against Lesotho.
"What happens if the player is ineligible, and it is found that he is ineligible, the team is automatically fined, number one, secondly, they forfeit the points, and thirdly, the matter can go to the disciplinary.
"The strange thing here is that no decision has come out of FIFA yet. Now there can only be two reasons for that.
"Why it hasn’t come out yet, only FIFA knows. I find it very strange. I mean, you had an instance a couple of weeks ago between Manchester United and Grimsby, where it was found, there was an ineligible player. You got a decision probably four days later.”
Hack, formerly a member of the FIFA disciplinary committee, added that the situation could be slightly different because Lesotho did not protest. He added:
"The first one is you have to have a protest. Lesotho didn’t protest, but somebody else lodged a complaint afterwards, so whether the disciplinary committee are looking at it on the basis of he was ineligible, but there wasn’t a protest, is something I can’t tell you at this stage.
"The normal situation is, if you are ineligible, you cannot play, you are suspended for the particular game. If you do play, the team forfeits the three points that they would have got, plus they lose three nil, and there’s an automatic fine in terms of the rules."
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CAS upholds Equatorial Guinea's 6-point deduction
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Court of Arbitration for Sports upheld the six-point deduction FIFA imposed on Equatorial Guinea for fielding an ineligible player.
The world's football governing body imposed a six-point penalty on Equatorial Guinea in the ongoing 2026 World Cup qualifier after striker Emilio Nsue featured in the 1-0 wins over Namibia and Liberia in November 2023.
Source: Legit.ng
