By Victor Kanayo
The Sudan Football Association has officially petitioned FIFA against Senegal for fielding Assane Diao in their 2026 World Cup qualifying game on Saturday.
The complaint is regarding FIFA’s regulations, which stipulate that a player must wait three years from his last international game before switching to another Member Association.
Diao came on in the 79th minute to replace Ismaïla Sarr in Senegal’s 0-0 away draw against Sudan in the World Cup qualifier.
However, the 19-year-old Como forward from Italy last played for Spain in a Euro Under-21 qualifying match, a 1-1 away draw against Belgium, on 21 November 2023.
Diao played four official matches under Spanish coach Santi Denia—two wins, two draws.
Sudan now awaits FIFA’s response in the coming days.
Heritage Times HT reports that the World Cup qualifiers continue with Matchday 6 this week, with various national teams scrambling for more points in search of automatic qualification tickets.
