On Tuesday 11 July, the Democratic Republic of Congo's national team pulled off an unexpected win over Mauritania by forfeit, taking command of Group I with a total of 9 points. The Leopards now await their final match against Sudan in September to seal their fate. The news was made public the same day by CAF's disciplinary tribunal.
The Confederation of African Football has handed Mauritania a forfeit following the use of player Khadim Diaw in the return match against the Leopards, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
A player at the centre of discord
In its decision on the eligibility of Khadim Diaw to represent Mauritania in the qualifiers for the CAN TotalEnergies Côte d'Ivoire 2024, the CAF Disciplinary Tribunal based its decision on article 5, paragraph 3, of the Regulations Governing the Application of the FIFA Statutes. This article stipulates that "any player who has already taken part, in whole or in part, in an official international match in any football category or discipline for one association may no longer play in an international match for another association".
The CAF Disciplinary Tribunal also relied on Article 150 of the CAF Disciplinary Code, which states that "if a player takes part in an official match when he is not eligible, his team will be sanctioned with a forfeit".
Reference was also made to article 105 of the CAF Disciplinary Code on forfeits, which states that teams who forfeit a match are considered to have lost the match.
CAF pointed out that Khadim Diaw had never requested a change of association at a time when he had already represented the Senegalese team in several matches during the CHAN 2020 qualifiers.
The disciplinary tribunal concluded that the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania had breached CAF and FIFA regulations and therefore deserved to be sanctioned.
DRC pick up 3 points
The Disciplinary Tribunal decided to declare the player Khadim Diaw ineligible and to sanction the matches in which he participated as forfeits for Mauritania. In this regard, the Disciplinary Tribunal declares that match No. 77 between DR Congo and Mauritania as well as match No. 101 between Mauritania and DR Congo, counting towards the qualifiers for the CAN TotalEnergies Côte d'Ivoire 2024, are declared lost by penalty 3-0 in accordance with Article 105 of the Disciplinary Code," announced the CAF Disciplinary Tribunal.
A FECOFA initiative
On 8 April 2023, the Fédération congolaise de football association (FECOFA) lodged a complaint regarding the eligibility of three Mauritanian players: Niasse Babacar, Al Hadji Ba and Khadim Diaw.
On 10 May 2023, the disciplinary tribunal met to consider the case and gave both parties involved the opportunity to present their arguments. While the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (FFRIM) was able to provide solid arguments for the first two players, it was unable to defend itself effectively in the case of Khadim Diaw.
This explains the sanction imposed on the FFRIM, as Khadim Diaw, born in Dakar, had already taken part in the CHAN 2020 qualifiers with Senegal's local team, making him ineligible to represent the Murabitounes.
In addition, the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania was forced to pay CAF USD 10,000 as a penalty.
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