FIFA has officially confirmed it has handed the most recent Africa Cup of Nations golden boot winner a hefty ban for violating rules pertaining to his international eligibility.
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Emilio Nsue was awarded the top goalscorer award at this past AFCON in the Ivory Coast after finding the back of the net five times. However, according to world football's governing body, the attacker should never have been representing Equatorial Guinea in the first place at the continental showpiece.
In fact, according to FIFA, the 34-year-old should not have been playing for the central African outfit for the past 11 years as he started his career with the side without receiving permission from the Swiss-based body to switch his international allegiance.
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Nsue was born in Spain and played for La Roja's youth sides. The attacker graced the pitch for the European nation from U16, all the way up until the U21 level, even playing in the 2011 European U21 Football Championship. In 2013, it is believed that, while the Equatorial Guinean Football Association (Feguifut) did file for the forward to have his nationality changed, they did not do it through FIFA.
Before attaining approval, Nsue had already played in two 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Cape Verde. The striker was found guilty of breaking the rules then and their opponents were handed 3-0 victories.
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FIFA has now awarded 3-0 victories to Equatorial Guinea's latest FIFA World Cup qualification opponents again in Liberia and Namibia, after a new investigation was launched into Nsue's eligibility in March 2023. Nsue has consequently been banned from international football for six months and Feguifut have been fined £131 000 (R3.1 million) for being complicit in the matter.
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