Another hint has emerged that South Africa may yet be deducted three points and three goals for fielding an ineligible player in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, as an expect of disciplinary matters in football says FIFA has a duty to sanction any erring player, club or team.
Sports247 gathered that these points were raised in a terse declaration by former FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF) disciplinary council member, Raymond Hack, who stressed that any infringement of the rules – whether deliberate or not – is bound to be met with well stated punishment, as stipulated by long standing regilations and precedents.
In effect, South Africa’s error of using Mamelodi Sundowns FC midfielder, Teboho Mokoena during their World Cup qualifier against Lesotho is bound to seen them suffer disciplinary action from FIFA, even if the opponents did not submit a protest within 24 hours stipulated time or if they withdrew it after initially forwarding one.
With those facts in view, Hack, who is also a former CEO of South Africa Football Association (SAFA), inferred that references to similar incidents in the past would also be used in judging the current development that has thrown Group C of the continent’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers into suspense, permutations and panic mode.
The football technocrat declared, “In such cases, the team and the player are responsible for whatever action happens, and FIFA has a right to impose sanctions, whether it was deliberate or wasn’t. It’s unfortunate, but there are certain disciplinary cases that FIFA can cite.
“The most important point is terms of the rule about fielding an ineligible player – then the game is forfeited. The disciplinary committee can also give a minimum fine of 6,000 Swiss francs, and the player can also be suspended.”
Hack also has harsh words for Mokoena, who facts showed had been booked in previous games against Zimbabwe and Benin Republic, as the assertive football buff pointed out that the player, being a top-rated professional, should have helped his nation avoid the quagmire that might cost them a bright chance of qualifying for next year’s Mundial.
“During the time I was in CAF, we had a number of of these cases. In effect, what we did is that we sanctioned the club … in the sense that they lost the game. We also fined them from a monetary point of view, and we penalised the player.
The reason being that the player is a professional and he should know the rules. If he doesn’t know the rules, then he should not be in the field of play,” Hack submitted affirmatively.
