Nigeria, March 26 -- South Africa's Bafana Bafana could be penalized with a three-point and three-goal deduction if found guilty of fielding an ineligible player during their Matchday 5 fixture of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho on March 25, 2025.

The controversy revolves around the Mamelodi Sundown midfielder Teboho Mokoena, who was allegedly ineligible to play due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Mokoena received bookings in South Africa's opening qualifier against Benin (Matchday 1) and another against Zimbabwe (Matchday 4).

Despite this, he played 81 minutes in the Matchday 5 clash with Lesotho, potentially violating FIFA regulations. According to FIFA rules, a player who accumulates two yellow cards in separa...