A former president of the Nigeria Football Federation has courted controversy after claiming that FIFA have acted rightly in the ongoing case against South Africa.

Nigeria and Benin Republic are pressuring FIFA to sanction South Africa with a three-point deduction for breaching the rule regarding fielding an ineligible player.

Bafana Bafana played Teboho Mokoena for over 80 minutes during their 2-0 win against Lesotho on matchday five of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

Mokoena was suspended after picking up a yellow card in the 52nd minute of the 3-1 win over Zimbabwe on matchday four and the 54th minute of the 2-1 win over Benin Republic on matchday one.

FIFA's rule dictates that a player who receives yellow cards in two separate games must receive a one-match suspension, and the team that fields such a player will forfeit the match and pay a minimum fine of $7,500.

Six months after Mokoena's 82-minute appearance against Lesotho on a day he was supposed to be suspended, FIFA has yet to act on his case.

Former NFF president defends FIFA

A former NFF president, whose identity was not disclosed during an interview with BSN Sports, claimed that FIFA has acted within the rules in the ongoing case.

He noted that the incident is slightly different from when Nigeria was punished for fielding Shehu Abdullahi against Algeria in 2018, as there has been official communication which the general secretary overlooked.

“In Nigeria’s case, FIFA had sent a warning, but the federation failed to act on it. Algeria also filed a formal complaint promptly. That made the penalty straightforward,” he said.

He added that Algeria lodged a formal complaint in 2018, but in the case of South Africa, neither Lesotho nor other team reacted within the stipulated time.

FIFA are also culpable in this case, as they reportedly did not notify South Africa before the match that Mokoena should be suspended, thus not acting in order to save their own error.

“Without a written protest, and with FIFA itself not having alerted South Africa beforehand about Mokoena’s suspension, it would be difficult for them to enforce a sanction without appearing culpable themselves,” he added.

South Africa lead Group C with 17 points, three ahead of Benin Republic with 14 points and six ahead of Nigeria with 11 points. They are in the best position to clinch the automatic ticket with two matches left.