Player not eligible for FIFA, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo take part in the World Cup: storm erupts. Nigeria furious
FIFA is facing a storm. According to the New York Times, legal officials at world football's governing body had privately concluded that the Democratic Republic of the Congo had fielded an ineligible player. That emerges from internal documents and correspondence reviewed by the New York Times, and from statements by a senior official directly involved in the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matters involved. Such a violation usually results in the team being given a forfeit defeat in every match in which the ineligible player was used. The Democratic Republic of the Congo needed to win one final match, the play-off against Jamaica, to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 52 years. FIFA allowed the player and the team to continue on their way. Congo beat Jamaica, thereby securing a place in the tournament.
Nigeria complaint
FIFA’s review of the Congo team came after Nigeria, the side Congo had beaten to reach the match against Jamaica, lodged a complaint over a player’s eligibility. During that investigation, FIFA found Congo had never completed the paperwork needed to let goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi switch allegiance after playing for France’s youth national teams. That is what the documents state. FIFA did not deny the findings of the Times investigation, merely stating that it had closed the Nigeria case on a technicality. In an email sent to the Times, FIFA said that its committees are "autonomous and decide cases on the basis of the regulations in force and the specific facts under consideration", adding that Infantino played no role in those decisions.
No action taken
In Congo's case, FIFA officials weighed up several options, including awarding Nigeria the win by default, imposing financial sanctions, replacing Congo with Nigeria in the play-off against Jamaica or taking no action, given that Nigeria had lodged the complaint late; this is what emerges from the documents. Further correspondence linked to the investigation, also reviewed by the Times, set out details of the action FIFA had taken in previous cases, in line with information already in the public domain. A FIFA legal official not involved in the case confirmed the authenticity of the documents obtained by the Times.
Greece and Bolivia's previous meetings
In 2016, FIFA stepped in after Greece fielded an ineligible player who had represented Australia at youth level, awarding a 3-0 forfeit defeat for the match against Turkey. Two years later, FIFA changed the results of two Bolivia matches in qualification for the 2018 World Cup after establishing that the Bolivian national team had fielded a player who had previously represented Paraguay.
