South Africa’s national football coach, Hugo Broos, has claimed that Nigeria’s influence was behind FIFA’s decision to dock Bafana Bafana three points for fielding midfielder Teboho Mokoena during the World Cup qualifying campaign.
In an interview with Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, the 73-year-old coach suggested that political pressure from Nigeria led to the disciplinary action, which came months after the incident.
“Not Lesotho, not me and my staff, and not the player in question were aware of any wrongdoing. Neither was FIFA. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee met three times since then, and there was never a problem — until two weeks before this crucial two-legged World Cup qualifier,” Broos said.
“It’s not normal, is it? No doubt due to pressure from Nigeria, which was in a losing position and now has a chance again. If this costs us the World Cup, it will be truly heartbreaking,” he added.
The Belgian coach said the yellow cards that led to Mokoena’s ineligibility dated back nearly 18 months, describing the sanction as unfair. He revealed that the South African team had since introduced stricter monitoring of player cautions.
Broos also addressed controversies surrounding other qualifying matches, alleging further attempts to disrupt Bafana Bafana’s campaign. He claimed South Africa resisted efforts by Zimbabwe to move Friday’s qualifier to Francistown, Botswana, instead of playing at home.
“Three weeks ago, Zimbabwe suddenly wanted to play that match in Botswana. Their own stadium isn’t up to par — that happens often in Africa — but no other country played against Zimbabwe in Botswana. Why should we suddenly have to?” Broos asked. “That’s a form of competitive distortion. We resisted, and thankfully we’re now playing in South Africa.”
Reflecting on their away defeat to Rwanda in November 2023, Broos described the match conditions as unacceptable.
“The stadium was abysmal. The seams of the 25-year-old artificial turf were sticking out. The pitch wasn’t even, and half an hour before the match, it started raining — the entire pitch was flooded. Don’t tell me FIFA inspected and approved that stadium,” he said.
Broos also cited travel difficulties before South Africa’s 1–1 draw with Nigeria in June 2024, claiming their charter flight was delayed due to lightning issues at the Nigerian airport.
“We boarded our charter, but it wouldn’t take off. The pilot said the runway we had to go to in Nigeria wasn’t lit. They made us wait for three hours until it got dark. Surely this kind of situation can finally end in 2025,” he said.
Despite the controversies, Broos expressed confidence that South Africa could still qualify for the World Cup.
“The whole country will celebrate if we pull it off,” he said. “I can’t even go from my apartment to the department store without having to take multiple selfies. A few months ago, a police car even stopped me — I was terrified until they shouted, ‘Coach! Selfie!’ It bodes well for the future. Or at least I hope so.”
