FIFA’s disciplinary panel has overturned the result of South Africa’s World Cup qualifying win over Lesotho after confirming that Bafana Bafana fielded a suspended player.
The ruling awards Lesotho a 3–0 victory and deducts three points from South Africa’s tally.
The original match, in which South Africa had beaten Lesotho 2–0, featured midfielder Teboho Mokoena who, FIFA found, was suspended at the time for accumulating a second yellow card.
Because of that ineligibility, the victors were penalized and the score line was adjusted to a 3–0 defeat and South Africa lost the three points they had earned.
The decision has immediate consequences for the group standings as South Africa fall from first to second place.
Their goal difference reduced as well as the points deduction. That swing lifts Benin to the summit, edging ahead on goal difference by a single goal.
Benin still face away assignments in Rwanda and Nigeria as the group stage approaches its final fixtures.
Only group winners secure direct qualification, while the best four second-placed teams will enter a play-off in November for a place in the intercontinental play-offs next March.
With the table now tighter, South Africa’s path has become markedly more precarious and the race for qualification has grown even more competitive