South Africa’s senior men’s national team, Bafana Bafana, appear to have escaped possible sanctions from FIFA over the controversial fielding of midfielder Teboho Mokoena during a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Lesotho in March.

Mokoena, who was ineligible for the clash, featured in the encounter, sparking concerns that South Africa could face disciplinary action. However, FIFA’s latest disciplinary and ethics report—covering 41 matches between July 1, 2024, and June 2025—did not include the fixture.

Sports lawyer Mandla Tshabalala believes this omission means Bafana are safe.

“We can safely say Bafana are safe because their matter would have fallen under a protest, meaning someone needed to protest the fielding of ineligible players, and they didn’t protest,” Tshabalala told Sowetan.

“There’s a high possibility that FIFA isn’t even considering the matter at all because no one followed proper processes of lodging a complaint. The Bafana game was in March, and all the investigations were the complaints up until June 2025. So, Bafana should have been included in the report if FIFA wanted to sanction them. I really believe we are off the hook.”

Opinion: A Narrow Escape, but a Wake-Up Call

While Bafana Bafana may have avoided sanctions this time, the Mokoena saga highlights an uncomfortable truth—administrative lapses can easily undo hard work on the pitch. Fielding an ineligible player is a basic error that should never happen at this level, regardless of whether an opponent lodges a protest or not.

That no protest was filed might have spared South Africa from punishment, but relying on technicalities is a dangerous game. FIFA’s silence should not be mistaken for approval; instead, it should serve as a reminder to tighten compliance, double-check player statuses, and run a more professional operation.

In modern football, matches are not only won on the pitch—they are also safeguarded in boardrooms and through meticulous administration. If South Africa want to be seen as a serious footballing nation, avoiding such avoidable slip-ups must become as important as scoring goals.

Because next time, luck may not be on their side.