Uncertainty about a possible punishment of South Africa by climbing a suspended player threatens to shuffle the decisive line of African qualifiers for the World Cup.
In March, the South Africans beat Lesoto 2-0 at home, but improperly used midfielder Tebeho Mokoena, who should have been suspended after receiving two.
Despite the recognized error, the local federation maintains that, as there was no protest of the opponent, the points would not be lost.
The FIFA regulation, however, of course: If a team uses ineligible athlete, the game should be automatically lost 3-0, unless the actual score is even more unfavorable. The entity has already applied similar punishments in other cases, but five months after the incident, did not officially comment on the episode.
The uncertainty worries direct rivals.
“It is not normal that we do not know the situation of the table before this week’s games. Normally, it should lose three points,” criticized Gernot Rohr, Benin coach, now runner-up of Group C. He recalls that he has experienced similar situation in 2018, when, ahead of Nigeria, he lost points by climbing a suspended player.
With the victory over Lesoto still valid, South Africa leads with 13 points, five more than Rwanda and Benin, and six over Nigeria, next opponent in direct confrontation in Bloemfontein.
Lesoto appears with six points and Zimbabwe is the flashlight with four. If the punishment is applied, the South Africans would see the difference fall to just two points, which would fully reopen the dispute for the vacancy.
“The world still expects FIFA’s decision,” charged the Nigerian Football Federation in a statement. The group winner guarantees direct classification for the United States, Mexico and Canada.
(Sharon Singleton Edition)
