8 months ago
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FIFA opened a disciplinary lawsuit against Equatorial Guinea aft the squad didn’t question to a World Cup qualifying game, the latest incidental successful an progressively chaotic campaign.
FIFA said its disciplinary committee volition analyse wherefore the Equatorial Guinea men’s squad did not spell to Malawi for a crippled scheduled Thursday (October 9, 2025). Both teams were inactive successful contention to beforehand to a playoffs by finishing runner-up successful the radical down victor Tunisia.
Equatorial Guinea already forfeited its archetypal 2 games past November arsenic 3-0 losses aft FIFA ruled that seasoned skipper Emilio Nsue was not eligible to correspond the country. Nsue had scored the goals successful 1-0 wins against Namibia and Liberia.
A station connected the team’s authoritative Instagram relationship said the players voted successful favour of not traveling to the crippled due to the fact that their wellness was enactment astatine hazard by being asked to alert overnight and onshore successful Malawi connected the greeting of the crippled successful Lilongwe.
The nationalist shot federation suspended manager Juan Michá implicit the incidental and said connected its ain Instagram relationship that the players and manager had shown disrespect to the radical of Equatorial Guinea.
The Malawi shot federation said successful a connection simply that the crippled was cancelled “due to unforeseen question complications affecting the visiting team.”
FIFA typically would punish a squad that does not fulfil its World Cup qualifying fixtures with a default loss.
Federations whose teams bash not play a scheduled crippled besides tin beryllium ordered to wage costs and compensation to opposing teams and FIFA.
Nsue was yet cleared by FIFA this twelvemonth to resume playing for Equatorial Guinea contempt the Spain-born subordinate antecedently being technically ineligible for his full planetary vocation with the westbound African country, which started successful 2013. Nsue, present 36, had played for Spain’s Under-21 team, including astatine a European Championship.
Equatorial Guinea should implicit its qualifying radical successful a crippled Monday (October 13) astatine location to Liberia.
