‘I think Fifa needs to manage it quickly,’ said Eric Chelle.
Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle has called on Fifa to act quickly over a potential three point deduction for Bafana Bafana in 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying.
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Bafana fielded Teboho Mokoena in a Group C World Cup qualifier in March, even though the Sundowns midfielder was suspended after picking up two yellow cards earlier in the group stages.
Hugo Broos’ Bafana won that match 2-0 and have opened up a five-point lead over Benin at the top of the group, heading into their meeting with Nigeria at the Free State Stadium on Tuesday.
Nigeria coach – ‘They need to manage it’
There remains the possibility, however that Fifa could award a 3-0 win to Lesotho in that game in March. That would reduce Bafana’s lead over Benin to two points, and their lead over Nigeria to three points, heading into the last three fixtures of qualifying.
“I’m just the coach, I lead my team … in terms of the yellow card, there’s an organisation whose name it’s Fifa, they need to manage it,” Chelle told the media on Monday at the Super Eagles’ pre-match press conference.
“My problem is my players first because they are focused. They want to play a great game here and I feel like we have to think about our game, not about what happens around the game.
““But the reality if I can tell you, I think Fifa needs to manage it quickly.”
‘The rules are very, very clear’
Benin coach Gernot Rohr has also hit out at Fifa for not penalising Bafana.
“It’s very clear. The rules are very, very clear. We don’t know why Fifa and Caf haven’t yet decided to take the points away from them. It’s not normal. We don’t know where we stand,” said Rohr after his side’s 1-0 win over Zimbabwe on Friday.
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“We have 11 points after this match against Zimbabwe. South Africa has to lose three points and then we will be only two points behind our opponent. What are they waiting for? I don’t know. It’s incomprehensible.”
