Bafana Bafana: 5 nations punished by FIFA for fielding ineligible players

Controversy and conversations continue to trail Bafana Bafana’s fielding of Teboho Mokoena, who was ineligible against Lesotho in a World Cup qualifier.

Mokeona, who had picked up two bookings, was ineligible to feature in the match against Lesotho but was part of the team.

Fans and football pundits wait with bated breath in anticipation of the consequences.

Below are five nations that made the same mistake and were subsequently punished by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA):

Nigeria

The issue of Bafana Bafana fielding Mokoena despite his double booking was raised by Nigeria, who did something similar years ago.

In the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, the Super Eagles fielded an ineligible player, Abdullahi Shehu.

Shehu had been cautioned for two matches before the fixture against Algeria, in a game that ended in a 1-1 draw.

FIFA ended up awarding a 3-0 result in favour of the Desert Foxes.

However, the punishment did not affect the Super Eagles because they had already booked a qualification spot.

Ethiopia

The Ethiopian team was punished by FIFA in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers when they had their 3-0 victory against Botswana overturned.

They had fielded Minyahil Teshome Beyene, who had no place in the match but was featured having collected two bookings.

Cape Verde

In the same 2014 World Cup qualifiers, Cape Verde were given the harshest punishment after playing defender Fernando Varela, who was sent off in a previous qualifier months prior.

Despite their 2-0 win against Tunisia in the first leg encounter, the Cape Verde team was disqualified.

Togo

Also on the list is Togo, thanks to the infamous 2013 World Cup preliminary first-leg match against Cameroon.

The Sparrowhawks had to forfeit the game following a 2-0 victory after fielding Jacques Alexys Romao, who had accumulated yellow cards.

Equatorial Guinea

In 2024, Equatorial Guinea played Emilio Nsue, who was declared ineligible by FIFA and paid a hefty price: they forfeited two World Cup qualifying matches.

Nsue was fielded for the second time after he was declared ineligible over naturalisation rules.