FIFAWCQ: McCarthy wants SAFA to take blame for South Africa woes

South African legend Benni McCarthy believes South Africa Football Association (SAFA) should carry the blame which led to Bafana Bafana being deducted points from their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match.

Bafana were deducted points and fined by FIFA after fielding midfielder Teboho Mokoena in their World Cup qualifier against Lesotho on March 21, despite the 28-year-old being on a one-match suspension for accumulating two yellow cards.

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee declared the match to have been forfeited by South Africa by a score of 3-0, while Mokoena was issued with a warning. FIFA further fined the South African Football Association (SAFA) 10,000 Swiss Francs (about 12,540 U.S. dollars).

Accountability is non-negotiable if Bafana fail to qualify

McCarthy, who is currently the head coach of Kenya national team Harambee Stars believes if Bafana fail to progress after the deducted points, the blame should squarely be put on administrative issues and not performance.

“Football is a funny game. You never know what can happen in those two final matches. But if failure comes from administration — not performance — then accountability is non-negotiable,” McCarthy told SuperSport’s Soccer Africa as quoted by Pulse Sports.

Speaking in the same panel, former Harambee Stars midfielder dwelled into the matter by saying: “The mistake was huge — this is the World Cup, not a small tournament. But the players must regroup, stay motivated, and fight for qualification.

“It’s demoralising. You fought hard for those points, and now they’re gone because of an administrative error. But the players can’t dwell on it. They need to forget the mess, focus forward, and win the next two matches.”

Following the deduction of points, Benin moved top of Group C with 14 points, the same points as South Africa, who are second, Nigeria remained third on 11 points, same as fourth placed Rwanda.

South Africa will next face Zimbabwe on Friday, October 10, at Moses Mabhida Stadium before winding up their preliminary matches against Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday, October 14.

⚽ Follow Pan-Africa Football across platforms for real-time news and stories.