In one of those rare situations that could record itself into the annals of footballing history, at least for the concerned country, Ethiopia has found itself liable for prosecution for fielding an unqualified player when it played its World cup qualifier against Botswana on 8th June, 2013.
The player, Minyahile Beyene, should not have been fielded for Ethiopia in that match having bagged two yellow cards from previous qualifying matches which by FIFA riles ruled him out of participation in that match which Ethiopia won by 2 goals to I.
As a result, FIFA handed the match to Botswana which measure is a the regular punishment where a team is deemed to have won or had an undue edge as a result of breaking a rule warranting that advantage.
By this, Ethiopia would be just two points ahead of group A, South Africa, ahead of the final round while Ethiopia’s play-off has now been placed on hold. The Ethiopia Football Federation admitted to fielding an ineligible player and blamed officials who forgot that Beyene had backed two yellow cards or the FIFA rule.
Ethiopia may therefore miss qualification for the World cup finals in Brazil if this affects her qualification which is already looking unsure because of this incident. Meanwhile Ethiopia had defeated South Africa by 2 goals to 1 over the weekend in a derby win that was celebrated in Addis Ababa.
The Ethiopian Football Federation had received warning about Minyahile ineligibility from FIFA but ‘forgot’ and played him. The federation and the team coach however admitted knowing about FIFA’s inquest before the South Africa match but chose not to react in order not to destabilize the team’s concentration; and they won.
The officials guilty of ‘forgetting’ noted as the Federation’s Vice
president and coach Sewnet Bishaw can look forward to FIFA penalties as well.
In a related development, Togo and Equatorial Guinea are also facing FIFA sanctions for fielding ineligible players. This could affect the qualification hopes of Libya and Tunisia and confer advantages to Cameroon and Cape Verde respectively.
While Togo could be stripped of its 2 – 0 win over Cameroon; Equatorial Guinea was guilty of playing the same ineligible footballer against Cape Verde twice. Cameroon could however, go above Libya in group I if it is awarded a win over Togo where Alexis Romao who plays for Marseille and Togo, is ineligible having bagged two yellow cards in previous qualifiers.
In the same vein, cape Verde could hinder Tunisia’s qualification for the play-offs if it is awarded a win over the March 24th game with Equatorial Guinea. Cape Verde won their match on June 8th while Tunisia already had thought themselves qualified by their win over the weekend.
