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Equatorial Guinea's football federation and their star player have appealed FIFA's ruling on his eligibility
Former Equatorial Guinea captain Emilio Nsue has filed an appeal against FIFA’s ruling in May that declared the 34-year-old ineligible to play for the African nation.
The world football governing body made the decision in May after claiming that Nsue had been participating in international football without approval since 2013 leading to significant repercussions for both the player and the Equatorial Guinea Football Federation (FEGUIFUT).
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18:40 - 24.05.2024
AFCON 2023 top scorer handed six-month ban for representing Equatorial Guinea while ineligible
Equatorial Guinea captain Emilio Nsue, who was the top scorer at AFCON 2023, has been handed a six-month ban by FIFA with his country also sanctioned for playing while ineligible.
FIFA’s ruling resulted in a six-month international ban for Nsue who they adjudged to be Spanish and imposed a $164,000 (Ksh 21,812,000) fine on FEGUIFUT.
Additionally, FIFA deducted points from the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in which Nsue had played.
“Our player and captain Emilio Nsue is an Equatoguinean in his own right,” FEGUIFUT president Venancio Tomas Ndong Micha told BBC Sport Africa.
“The federation and population do not understand why we’re going through what we’re going through. He has his family here in Equatorial Guinea, the country of his father, and we think we will win our appeal. I hope Fifa will deliver justice.”
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In its detailed ruling, FIFA expressed that it was “comfortably satisfied” that Nsue was ineligible for “several” internationals.
This decision included awarding technical 3-0 wins to Namibia and Liberia for World Cup qualifiers that Equatorial Guinea won 1-0, with Nsue scoring the decisive goals in both matches.
Emilio Nsue, who holds the record as Equatorial Guinea’s top scorer with 22 goals, faced eligibility issues in the past.
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FIFA had ruled him ineligible in 2013 after his first two appearances for Equatorial Guinea, a decision based on his earlier representation of Spain at the youth level.
According to FIFA, Nsue did not hold Equatoguinean nationality when he first played for Spain in 2005, which was a technical requirement at that time.
Despite this, FEGUIFUT began fielding Nsue again in late 2013, and he became a key player in the national team, competing in World Cup qualifiers for 2018, 2022, and 2026, as well as participating in three Nations Cups.
Under FIFA’s regulations, players can represent a national team if their mother or father was born in the territory of the relevant association.
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Born in Spain in 1989 the former Birmingham City man believed he was eligible to play for Equatorial Guinea since his father was born there.
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