FIFA has handed down a six-month ban to Emilio Nsue, the captain of Equatorial Guinea's national team, after determining that he was ineligible to play in the country's first two qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
The 34-year-old striker, who was the top scorer at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations with five goals, scored the winning goal in both of the games in question against Namibia and Liberia last November.
FIFA's disciplinary committee was "comfortably satisfied" that Nsue was ineligible for "several" international matches and has ruled that both World Cup preliminaries will be forfeited 3-0 by the Central Africans.
Additionally, the Equatoguinean federation (Feguifut) has been fined 150,000 Swiss francs ($164,000, £129,000).
Nsue, a former youth international for Spain, has been a key player for Equatorial Guinea, becoming the country's record goalscorer while playing in qualifiers for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and appearing at three separate editions of the Nations Cup finals.
He currently plays for Intercity in Spain's third tier.
The loss of six points would be a significant blow to Equatorial Guinea's chances of reaching the 2026 World Cup finals in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The team was second in Group H behind leaders Tunisia on goal difference but would drop to fifth in the six-team group if the six-point deduction is upheld.
FIFA's ruling is subject to appeal, and a Feguifut official has stated that they are investigating the case and have not received official notification from FIFA.
Equatorial Guinea are scheduled to face Tunisia and Malawi in qualifiers next month.
