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In a shocking revelation, FIFA has disclosed that Equatorial Guinea player Emilio Nsue, top scorer at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals, was ineligible to represent the country for the past 11 years. The striker, who played a pivotal role in his team’s surprising performance at the AFCON in Ivory Coast, was handed a six-month ban last month by FIFA’s disciplinary committee.
Nsue, 34, whose previous clubs include Birmingham City and Middlesbrough, helped Equatorial Guinea beat the host nation and advance to the last-16 at the AFCON finals. However, FIFA documentation released on Monday has detailed that Nsue should never have been allowed to play for the central African nation.
FIFA’s decision on May 10th found that Nsue’s request to switch footballing nationality had been denied over a decade ago. Despite this, he continued to represent Equatorial Guinea, which only now has been officially addressed by FIFA.
Born in Palma de Mallorca to a Spanish mother and a father from Equatorial Guinea, Nsue represented Spain at junior levels, including scoring in the 2009 U-20 World Cup. His attempt to switch allegiance was denied by FIFA because he only acquired Equatoguinean nationality after playing for Spain at junior levels.
“FIFA has ruled that 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea captain Emilio Nsué was never eligible to represent the African nation throughout his 11-year international career.”
This discovery has significant repercussions. FIFA opened a new investigation in March, leading to Equatorial Guinea being stripped of their 2026 World Cup qualification victories against Namibia and Liberia. The Equatoguinean federation has also been fined $164,000.
Nsue, despite having retired after the AFCON, has been banned from all international football for six months. His appearances included participation in World Cup qualifiers for 2014, 2018, and 2022, as well as three Cup of Nations tournaments, all while being ineligible.
The situation raises questions about the administrative oversights that allowed this to continue for so long. FIFA has yet to provide a detailed explanation for revisiting Nsue’s status at this particular time. On May 24th, they announced the stripping of six points from Equatorial Guinea’s World Cup qualifiers due to Nsue’s ineligibility. These points had been earned from victories where Nsue scored the winning goals.
Despite previous fines and sanctions, Nsue’s eligibility issues had not been effectively resolved until now, marking a significant oversight in international football governance.
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