McCarthy, Mariga slam South African Football Association after FIFA's points deduction
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Reading Time: 2min | Sat. 04.10.25. | 18:33
The sanction has delivered a major blow to South Africa’s hopes of reaching next year’s FIFA World Cup
Harambee Stars head coach and South African football legend Benni McCarthy has called for firm accountability after Bafana Bafana were stripped of three points in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign for fielding an ineligible player.
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Earlier this week, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee ruled that Bafana Bafana breached regulations when midfielder Teboho Mokoena featured in a March qualifier against Lesotho despite being suspended after accumulating two yellow cards.
The 2-0 victory was overturned and awarded as a 3-0 win to Lesotho, while the South African Football Association (SAFA) was fined 10,000 Swiss Francs (about Ksh1.63 million).
The sanction has delivered a major blow to South Africa’s hopes of reaching next year’s FIFA World Cup.
With two matches remaining, Benin leads Group C on goal difference, level on 14 points with Bafana Bafana.
Nigeria and Rwanda are just three points behind.
Only the group winners qualify directly, while the second-placed team faces a playoff.
“Football is a funny game. You never know what can happen in those two final matches. But if failure comes from administration, not performance, then accountability is non-negotiable,” said McCarthy, speaking on SuperSport’s Soccer Africa programme.
The ruling has embarrassed South African football, with Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos admitting: “We did something bad, we did something we shouldn’t do.”
Despite the admission, SAFA has hinted at an appeal, a move that left many analysts baffled.
Panellist Thomas Kwenaite said, “Why talk about appealing? Everyone knew we messed up, FIFA punished us, and now we want to appeal? Appeal what? The rules are very clear. There’s nothing to appeal.”
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) vice-president McDonald Mariga, also on the panel, said, "The mistake was huge. This is the World Cup, not a small tournament. But the players must regroup, stay motivated, and fight for qualification.”
Mariga admitted the decision must have hit the dressing room hard, “It’s demoralising. You fought hard for those points, and now they’re gone because of an administrative error.
But the players can’t dwell on it. They need to forget the mess, focus forward, and win the next two matches.”
Responsibility for the error, he added, lies squarely with SAFA’s administrators.
"It’s not on the players. Players don’t track yellow cards like administrators do. FIFA and CAF always notify federations. The responsibility lies with the team manager and the general secretary. Missing that is pure incompetence.”
McCarthy was even more blunt: “People responsible for this mistake must pay a hefty price. South Africa hasn’t qualified for the World Cup since 2002. If they miss out again because of incompetence, then heads must roll. Simple.”
South Africa hosts Zimbabwe before facing Rwanda in a decisive final Group C clash in October.
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