Bafana Bafana star Teboho Mokoena breaks silence on World Cup qualifiers suspension 'I knew I was going to regret it for the rest of my life' after people made fun of him

In a candid interview, the Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder has revealed how his controversial suspension affected him personally.

To make matters worse for him, Mokoena has said he met people at the mall who were making fun of his situation.

“It was honestly very hard for me and my family, especially my mother, because sometimes she will call and tell me that people on the streets are saying, ‘This child is costing us, and why did he play knowing that he had yellow cards?’” Mokoena said to Thabiso Mosia on Radio 2000.

"With me, it happened like twice at the mall when they were making fun of it, and that’s when it started to hit me hard because before that I knew that social media people don’t care, but when it happened to me face to face with someone joking about it, and me thinking that we might not go to the World Cup, I knew I was going to regret it for the rest of my life," he added.

The Bafana star also absolved himself of the matter and said he was not aware that he was suspended.

“I didn’t even know that I had those yellow cards, so it was very difficult, and I was relieved when we qualified for the World Cup. I was not happy but relieved. It was a tough few months for me, and I was not myself at home," Tebza, as Mokoena is famously known, stated.

“Even in training, I was not myself. I was trying, but it was hard. I ended up blaming myself, and I spoke to the coach [Hugo Broos], and he said I shouldn’t blame myself and that we’re all involved and we should have all known.”

All the blame for the crisis that led to the point deduction was pinned on Bafana's team manager, Vincent Tseka.

Tseka defended himself over the administrative blunder by stating that at the time Mokoena was yellow-carded because he had left the dugout to get ice for the team.

However, he accepted that he should have done his due diligence. 

According to the Minister of Sports, Arts, and Recreation, Gayton McKenzie, the South African Football Association (SAFA) completed their investigation into this matter.

“SAFA has complied with my request and has completed its investigation. They provided me with a very comprehensive investigation, and I can report today that we now have full clarity on what happened," McKenzie said.

“The report confirms this was not an act of negligence or sabotage but rather a strange, highly unusual set of coincidences."

“Despite their results on the field, Bafana Bafana are still under-resourced. That’s the uncomfortable truth."

The minister also shielded the team manager, citing the period between when Mokoena was yellow-carded against Zimbabwe and when he played against Lesotho.

“The two yellow cards issued to Teboho Mokoena came 16 months apart, an almost unheard-of gap. The team manager, Vincent Tseka, who has taken responsibility for that oversight despite numerous excruciating circumstances, was not present when the second card was issued, as he had left the field to fetch ice for the players," the minister explained.

“That extraordinary coincidence tells us something deeper: that our national team is operating under immense strain. Despite the tremendous progress in the field and positive results, Bafana Bafana are still under-resourced.”

Although the Mokoena saga came at a critical time of World Cup qualification, Bafana finally managed to squeeze their way into the global showpiece next year after a late surge of good form.