The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Friday night, March 31, ruled in favor of Benin after they lodged a case against Rwanda for allegedly fielding an ineligible player in Kevin Muhire during the pair’s 1-1 draw in a 2023 AFCON Group L qualifier held in Kigali. The continental football governing body ruled that the Kuwait based midfielder was not supposed to play the game in Kigali after receiving two yellow cards in two consecutive AFCON qualifying matches. In a post-match press conference, Benin head coach Gernot Rohr told members of the press that the Beninese FA had already filed an appeal to CAF arguing that Muhire was ineligible to play on Wednesday because the player had accumulated two yellow cards against Senegal and Benin in the first leg.” ALSO READ: Was Muhire eligible to play Benin in Kigali? In a letter that Times Sport has seen, CAF informed Rwanda that they lost their AFCON Qualifier against Benin by a 3-0 forfeit after ruling that Benin’s appeal was valid. The decision was, according to CAF, taken in reference to article 42.1 of the ‘Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations concerning sanctions of players which indicates that, for the qualifying phase and the final tournament, a player who receives two cautions shall be automatically suspended from playing the following match. The forfeit result put Rwanda’s race for a ticket to the 2023 AFCON finals in jeopardy after the country dropped to the bottom of Group L table with two points while Benin moved third with four points, level with second-placed Mozambique who lost 1-0 to Senegal last week in Maputo. Rwanda will, according to the letter, also be fined an unspecified amount of money for fielding an eligible player which is against the rules. It remains unclear whether Rwanda will appeal against the decision. Happy April Fool's Day!
