Namibia Football Association officials said Tuesday they have lodged a formal protest after suspecting Burkina Faso of fielding an ineligible player in two African Cup of Nations qualifying matches.
NFA president John Muinjo and secretary general Barry Rukoro both told The Associated Press their association has complained to the Confederation of African Football over Burkina Faso's Cameroon-born defender Herve Zengue, who they believe does not meet FIFA rules of eligibility.
Zengue played in Burkina Faso's 4-1 win over Namibia in Windhoek on Saturday, which ended Namibia's hopes of reaching next year's African Cup.
He also played in a game between the countries on March 26 which Burkina Faso won 4-0 - just a day after he was supposedly granted a Burkinabe passport.
FIFA laws say a player has to apply to the world governing body for a change of nationality after being granted a new citizenship.
''The fact that he (Zengue) became a Burkina Faso national is not enough to make him eligible to play in this (March 26) match,'' NFA secretary general Rukoro said. ''There are a lot of other procedures that he must have to adhere to.
''It's fine if he did that but we cannot take chances and accept that he might have done that.''
Burkina Faso leads the three-team Group F in Cup of Nations qualifying and will reach the tournament if Gambia does not beat Namibia in September.
CAF could disqualify Burkina Faso from the competition if the 27-year-old Zengue, who plays for Terek Grozny, is found to be ineligible.
Last month, the continent's ruling body threw Africa's reigning club champion - TP Mazembe of Congo - out of the African Champions League for fielding a player who was registered with another club and therefore ineligible.
