August 18 – Rwanda have been thrown out of the Africa Cup of Nations over a bizarre case of player eligibility. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) took the decision following a protest by Congo who have been re-instated in the qualifying competition for next year’s finals in Morocco.
The Congolese Football Federation complained that Birori Dady had been allowed to play for Rwanda in the first leg of the second round qualifier between the two nations last month even though he had a different name and age in his passport.
Whilst the Rwandan FA maintained that to their knowledge the player had only one identity, investigations revealed that he was called up as Etekiama Agiti Tady to the national team and that the two identities referred to a single person.
Rwanda, who beat Congo on penalties over two legs to reach the group phase of qualification, are disqualified, with Congo now placed in the same group as Nigeria, Sudan and South Africa.
CAF have also suspended the player until further notice and have banned him from playing for both his club and country.
CAF urged other “players and stakeholders to regulate the situation of dual identity.”
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