Nigeria and Benin have called on FIFA to dock points from South Africa in the 2026 FIFA World Cup African qualifiers, accusing the governing body of jeopardising the competition’s credibility by remaining silent on the issue.
The controversy stems from South Africa’s 2-0 victory over Lesotho, in which midfielder Teboho Mokoena featured despite being suspended. FIFA has yet to issue a ruling, sparking frustration among rival teams as the group nears decisive fixtures.
Benin coach Gernot Rohr voiced concern over the uncertainty, saying, “It is not normal that we don’t know the situation about the points on the log table before our games this week. It is very, very strange. Normally, South Africa should lose three points and they should go to Lesotho. But nobody knows why FIFA has not taken this decision.”
The Nigeria Football Federation echoed the call, stressing that the governing body must act promptly. “The world still awaits FIFA’s decision,” the federation said in a statement.
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos admitted to the error but argued that the result should stand, noting that Lesotho did not file a protest. “We did something bad, we did something we shouldn’t do, but there was no complaint,” Broos said.
South Africa currently top Group C with 13 points, followed by Rwanda and Benin on eight each. Nigeria are fourth with seven, Lesotho trail on six, while Zimbabwe sit bottom with four.
