Someone’s head must roll at Safa over Bafana bungle, says Brian Baloyi

Former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Brian Baloyi has blasted South African Football Association (Safa) officials after they failed to pick up that midfielder Teboho Mokoena was not supposed to play against Lesotho in Friday's 2-0 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying win.

Hours before Bafana played their second match against Benin in Ivory Coast on Tuesday, where they also won 2-0, it emerged Mokoena was supposed to have been suspended against Lesotho at Peter Mokaba Stadium after collecting two previous yellow cards.

Bafana are likely to be docked the three points they won against Lesotho for fielding Mokoena. 

Baloyi said Safa should not be making such a potentially costly, basic mistake and whoever was supposed to check the yellow card situation had to take responsibility.

“If our management can make such schoolboy errors and no-one takes accountability, then it will tell us as a nation that at Safa House we are running a Mickey Mouse organisation,” he said.

“If you are running a world-class organisation then people must be accountable and heads must roll for such issues.

“This is a serious issue, we are qualifying for the World Cup, the highest honour for players and the nation,” Baloyi said at an Honor event in Sandton this week.

“If we are making such errors that cost us points then what are we saying to the young players we are expecting to be world-class? What are we saying to them when we make such errors administratively and no-one is held accountable?”

Baloyi said given it is likely Bafana will lose three points, coach Hugo Broos and his technical staff need to keep the team's spirits high and remind them they still lead the group and have to push with everything to qualify for a first World Cup other than as hosts since 2002.

South Africa (13 points) have a five-point lead in group C after six matches and with four to go, Rwanda and Benin have eight, Nigeria seven, Lesotho six and Zimbabwe four.

The top teams from nine African groups qualify for the World Cup, with the four best runners-up going into a playoff for the chance at one more place via an intercontinental playoff.

“I'm hoping the staff and coaches can get into the boys' heads and say, 'Whatever happens, let's qualify on the field'.

“We have four games to go, let's win all of them and then whatever happens with the Teboho issue is irrelevant. But with that issue, I'm saying someone has to take responsibility at Safa for this mess.

“We regard ourselves as one of the best nations on the continent and we want to be world beaters. For you to do that, we can't just expect that of the players — the management has to be world class.”

SowetanLIVE