Fifa permitted the Democratic Republic of the Congo to take part in this summer’s World Cup even though reports indicated that an internal inquiry had concluded the team used an ineligible player during qualification.
The player involved was goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi, who delivered several impressive performances at the tournament, including in the last-32 match against England. Born in France and a former French youth international, Mpasi had reportedly failed to complete the formal process required to change his international allegiance. Despite this, the Congolese football federation, Fecofa, received no sanction.
The disclosure is expected to bring further scrutiny to Fifa president Gianni Infantino, whose leadership has already faced questions amid several governance controversies. Fifa’s investigative units operate independently, and the president is not involved in their proceedings. The organisation is understood to have rejected claims that Infantino influenced the Mpasi decision. However, attention may remain on him because Véron Mosengo-Omba, a former university associate, was elected unopposed as Fecofa president in May.
The Nigerian Football Federation filed a complaint alleging that the DRC used ineligible players in the World Cup playoff between the two countries in November, which the Congolese side won in a penalty shootout.
Reports indicated that Fifa investigators knew about Mpasi’s circumstances before the DRC defeated Jamaica in the final intercontinental playoff round in March. Although several measures were reportedly considered, including excluding Congo from the playoffs, Fifa dismissed Nigeria’s complaint because it had not been lodged within the required deadline.
Nigeria challenged that ruling, while government officials indicated that financial compensation could be pursued. A member of the national sports commission, Nigeria’s sporting regulator, said no final decision had been reached but that officials would seriously consider seeking reimbursement from Fifa for the economic damage suffered by the country.
Concacaf, the confederation representing North America, Central America and the Caribbean, counts Jamaica among its members. It said player eligibility issues must be treated seriously and that the relevant rules and procedures should be enforced fairly and consistently in every competition. The organisation also called for any eligibility concerns to be fully examined by the appropriate Fifa governance and disciplinary bodies.
Fifa, Concacaf, Caf, the Nigerian Football Federation and Fecofa were contacted for responses.
On Tuesday, the Norwegian football federation confirmed that it had filed a three-part complaint with Fifa concerning the organisation’s governance. One issue involved the reversal of a red card shown to United States forward Folarin Balogun following a telephone intervention by Donald Trump. The NFF also referred to the Fifa peace prize and the abandoned proposal to sell investors a stake in the World Cup through the Fifa Forward Enterprise initiative.
“Every matter needs to be examined according to its own facts,” said NFF president Lise Klaveness. “Taken together, however, these incidents raise a broader concern over whether Fifa’s status, power or influence was exercised improperly and, if that happened, whether the safeguards intended to stop such conduct operated effectively.”
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