Teboho Mokoena breaks silence over Bafana Bafana points deduction saga

Bafana Bafana midfielder Teboho Mokoena has opened up about the difficult time he endured following the controversial decision to play when he was suspended.

Mokoena was fielded in a World Cup qualifier against Lesotho in March and it later came with serious consequences that nearly saw them miss out on next year’s tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The anomaly was discovered a few days after the match with Lesotho time barred and unable to file a complaint but the saga rumbled on even as the qualifiers continued.

South Africa looked to have escaped when nothing was said by the qualification matches of August but in September, the bombshell arrived from FIFA, confirming that the matter was going to be looked into.

Mokoena among those blamed for points deduction

Less than two weeks later, South Africa were punished with three points deducted, seeing them tumble from top spot in the group with 17 points to second with 14, same as Benin, and now requiring favours from elsewhere to qualify for the World Cup.

That saw a blame game ensue with some blaming SAFA, coach Hugo Broos, the Bafana Bafana team manager while others singled out Mokoena for playing when he was suspended.

Now with Bafana qualified for the World Cup, the Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder has explained the emotional toll it took on him.

What has Sundowns midfielder said over the saga?

"People were blaming me… because of the 2 yellow cards… the toughest six months of my career…

"I was not allowed to speak about it…I was going through a lot. I was not okay" – @TebohoMokoena28 tells @ArthurMafokate. #Bafana #WorldCup #Sundowns pic.twitter.com/oG5JqGV9gY

— Austin Ditlhobolo (@A_B_Ditlhobolo) October 15, 2025

“It has been the toughest six months of my career,” Mokoena said as he expressed relief at seeing South Africa make it to the World Cup.

“The backlash I received and my family was very hard. People were blaming me for the yellow cards and I could not speak about it and I was going through a lot. I was not okay, but I'm just happy we qualified for the World Cup.”

Bafana Bafana sealed their place at the expanded tournament in North America after finishing top of their group with 18 points following a 3-0 win over Rwanda 3-0 coupled with Nigeria’s 4-0 thrashing of Benin.