The FIFA Disciplinary Committee announced that in the Africa zone World Cup qualifier on March 21 this year, where South Africa initially defeated Lesotho 2-0, South Africa fielded an ineligible player, Tebogo Mokone, in violation of Article 19 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and Article 14 of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Regulations. As a result, the match has been forfeited in favor of Lesotho, with the official result recorded as South Africa 0-3 Lesotho. In addition, the South African Football Association has been fined 10,000 Swiss francs, and Tebogo Mokone has received a warning.
It was reported that Tebogo Mokone was suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards prior to the match and was therefore ineligible to play against Lesotho. However, South Africa fielded him in violation of the rules.
Following the forfeited match, South Africa dropped to second place in Group C of the African qualifiers, level on points with group leaders Benin but trailing on goal difference, while Nigeria occupies third place. According to the World Cup qualifying regulations, only the nine group winners from the African zone advance directly to the World Cup.
