Burkina Faso stripped of victory

Burkina Faso have been stripped of their 1-0 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo in the CAF World Cup qualifiers.

Cameroon-born defender Herve Xavier Zengue had not been cleared to play for Burkina Faso, but was used in several competitive games, prompting the football authorities to take action.

“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided that the Burkina Faso FA has breached the disciplinary code on ineligibility,” an official statement read.

“The match between Burkina Faso and Congo on the 2nd of June 2012 is declared to be lost by forfeit (3-0) by Burkina Faso, and the Burkina Faso FA have been fined 6,000 Swiss francs.”

Despite his ineligibility, Zengue has been capped six times for Burkina Faso and was given a passport after marrying a local woman.

He was called up to the team despite having no blood ties or ever living in the country, which prompted Namibia to call FIFA to investigate, but their initial accusations were refuted.

Incidents of similar nature are not uncommon in African football as both Gabon and Sudan have been punished in the past for breaching of the same rule.