Even though it seemed like we’re all set to have our World Cup group stage draw, there seems to be some controversy about one African berth, as Burkina Faso have lodged a complain against FIFA that Algeria used an ineligible player, Madjid Bougherra, in the second leg of their playoffs clash, scoring the only goal which gave his nation the World Cup ticket.
According to Sita Sangare, the FBF president, Bougherra picked up a yellow card during a group stage qualifying match against Mali and then again when Burkina Faso beat Algeria 3-2 during the first leg. According to the losing side, Bougherra shouldn’t have been playing at all, serving a suspension due to his bookings.
This isn’t the only complaint coming from Burkina Faso, not to happy about the refereeing coming from Senegalese referee Badara Diatta and his crew. Sangare’s biggest claim to blame against Diatta is that he failed to allow the teams a few minutes of injury time, denying Burkina Faso a chance to score a late equalizer.
According to match reports, Bougherra did not pick up a yellow card in the first leg of the playoffs against Burkina Faso, but it’s possible that these are not full reports or maybe something happened after the final whistle.
FIFA had to intervene in a few matches during the African qualifiers, which included denying Cape Verde a place in the playoffs after they used an ineligible player against Tunisia in the final group match.