AFCON
Cameroon suspend AFCON player over alleged identity fraud
Cameroon have suspended a player they took to the Africa Cup of Nations in the Cote d’Ivoire earlier this year for allegedly falsifying his name and date of birth, which could see them face a future ban from the tournament.
The Cameroon federation FECAFOOT on Monday named Wilfried Nathan Douala among 62 players suspended from the league over administrative irregularities, mostly double identity and age cheating.
There was considerable surprise ahead of January’s Cup of Nations finals, where Cameroon went out in the second round, when coach Rigobert Song picked the 17-year-old Douala, an unheralded player from second division club Victoria United with no previous international experience.
There was also much comment on social media about whether he was really a teenager when pictures of the player first surfaced.
An investigation by the French daily Le Monde claimed Douala had previously played in the Cameroon league using the name Alexandre Bardelli and was over 21-years-old.
Le Monde said it had asked the Cameroon federation to explain the irregularity before they set off for the Ivory Coast but that FECAFOOT had declined to comment. Douala did not play at the Cup of Nations but was a registered squad member.
Tournament regulations says that if a fraud or a forgery has been committed, the national association concerned will be suspended from participation in the following two editions of the Cup of Nations.
For any administrative error in the registration of players, the national association concerned will be suspended from participation in the next edition, the rules add.
The Confederation of African Football has been contacted for comment.
-Reuters
Faced with internal challenges that include players’ injuries and boycotts, the Libyan coach, Nasser Al-Hadhiri is believed by local press as facing a ‘near-impossible mission’ in Nigeria.
“The team’s mission against Nigeria seems almost impossible. The Nigerian team has a strong squad, led by names such as Ademola Lookman and Victor Boniface, which makes the task more difficult for the Libyan team”, Akhbarlibya24 editorialised.
It further reported that despite the difficult situation, the Libyan coach, Nasser Al-Hadhiri remains somewhat optimistic, as he hopes to achieve a positive result. He remarked: “We realize that winning against Nigeria is difficult, but we seek to return with a draw that will be positive for us and restore our hope in competing for qualification.”
According to Libya’s news outlets, there are palpable fears in the Libya national team which faces successive crises and trying to avoid early elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series.
The team which faces the Super Eagles this week has been plagued with players’ absences occasioned by injuries and boycotts.
The coach recently appointed has revealed the names of players refusing to represent the national team.
In a press conference held on Saturday, Coach Nasser Al-Hadhiri remarked that the absence of several players were due to real injuries.
In that class are Ahmed Al-Tarbi, a defender of Ahli Tripoli; Mohammed Al-Tabbal of Al-Nasr club and Ali Youssef who also suffered the injury while playing with Tunisia’s Club Africaine.
If the Libyan national team sticks to plans, the players are expected to have arrived in Nigeria ahead of their Friday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying duel in Uyo.
With most players drawn from the domestic league, the national team had daily training sessions in Tripoli under coach Nasser Al-Hadhiri and his assistants Akram Al-Hammami and Abu Bakr Al-Hark.
However, according to media sources in Libya, the team faces injury worries even though the absence of Victor Osimhen in the Nigerian squad is being celebrated.
Even though it did not mention the injured Libyan players, Libya Al-Ahrar Channel reports that replacements were found in Al-Tahadi FC defender, Mohammed Khalil and Al-Nasr midfielder, Abdullah Abdul Rahim as well as Al-Akhdar winger, Faraj Ghaidhan. They take the places of the absent regular players.
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