Cape Verde out of World Cup qualifying. Photo: BBC Sport
The fairytale progress of tiny Cape Verde Islands to the last round of African World Cup qualifiers turned into a nightmare today when Fifa found them guilty of fielding an ineligible player and turfed them out of the competition.
Their place in the final round playoffs will be taken by Tunisia, who the Cape Verdians had sensationally eliminated at the weekend to win their group with a shock 2-0 win in Tunis.
Tunisia coach Nabil Maaloul quit in the wake of the embarrassing setback.
Because Cape Verde fielded the defender Fernando Varela, who should have sat out the match after being sent off in a qualifier in March, the match has been forfeited and awarded 3-0 in favour of Tunisia, Fifa said in a statement.
It means Tunisia finish top of Group B and will play in the final round of the qualifiers next month and in November. The 10 group winners go into a draw on Monday to determine the pairings for the five playoff matches from which the winners will go to Brazil next year.
The Cape Verde have also been fined 6000 Swiss francs ($6,400) after a meeting of the Fifa disciplinary committee. – Reuters
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