The South African Football Association expressed disappointment after FIFA stripped Bafana Bafana of three points for using an ineligible player against Lesotho during a March World Cup qualifier. The ruling dropped South Africa to second place in their group behind Benin with two matches remaining. The association requested written reasons for the decision and plans to appeal within 10 days while apologizing to the nation for the administrative error.
South Africa faces Zimbabwe and Rwanda in their final qualifying games. The incident recalls a 2012 embarrassment when Bafana Bafana players celebrated at Mbombela Stadium after drawing with Sierra Leone, wrongly believing they had qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations. The team failed to recognize that head-to-head results would determine qualification before goal difference when countries finished level on points in Group G.
South Africa faces Zimbabwe and Rwanda in their final qualifying games. The incident recalls a 2012 embarrassment when Bafana Bafana players celebrated at Mbombela Stadium after drawing with Sierra Leone, wrongly believing they had qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations. The team failed to recognize that head-to-head results would determine qualification before goal difference when countries finished level on points in Group G.
