00:00Ahead of the World Cup, FIFA knew that Congo's goalkeeper was ineligible, but they allowed
00:05him to continue at the tournament.
00:07This is what media reports released by the New York Times and Le Monde on Tuesday suggest.
00:14The publication cited internal FIFA documents centred on the case of Lionel Mpasi that heightened
00:20scrutiny on the soccer body's disciplinary processes.
00:24According to the reports, 32-year-old Mpasi, once of France under-17 international, never
00:30completed the process of changing his national eligibility to Congo, where he has family ties.
00:36Mpasi participated in all four of Congo's games at the World Cup, including the 1-1 tie against
00:42Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal.
00:45He also played in five qualifiers over the past year, including a win over Jamaica in
00:50March that sent Congo to its first World Cup in more than five decades.
00:55The reports add that according to the FIFA documents, defaulting Congo's results in qualifying games
01:01in which Mpasi participated would have enabled Burkina Faso instead to reach the African playoffs.
