Nigeria coach Eric Chelle has remained coy on Bafana Bafana‘s potential points deduction for fielding Teboho Mokoena when he should’ve been suspended against Lesotho.
The Super Eagles dropped two points against Zimbabwe on Tuesday evening after conceding a late equaliser, while Bafana did their job and collected a crucial 2-0 win away to Benin.
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The results saw South Africa open a five-point gap to second-placed Rwanda, who also dropped points in a 1-1 draw with Lesotho, and a six-point gap to Nigeria.
However, the gap could be reduced if Hugo Broos’ men were found guilty by FIFA for fielding an ineligible player after Mokoena featured against Lesotho despite picking up yellow cards against Benin and Zimbabwe*.
“I don’t want to tell about that,” Chelle said after his side’s draw when asked about the issue around South Africa, as per PoojaDissects.
“I said yesterday we are focussed on this game, on our game. This is why after the game I spoke to my guys, and I said ‘guys, it’s just football. Keep going to look for second place. This is today our position.’
“They made a great job during this 10 days and deserve this qualification and trusting them.
“Maybe if South Africa drop three points, the next game is against Rwanda, so we can pass this team. After that we have a game against South Africa…
“But if it’s true… (stops his thought). We will see next day what happens.”
*At this stage it is not clear whether Lesotho lodged a complaint within the timeframes of FIFA’s rules and regulations, or whether the football mother body themselves would intervene in such a case. Neither SAFA, nor FIFA are yet to comment on the incident.
