Cameroonian club Victoria United has defended Wilfried Nathan Doualla after the midfielder was accused of age cheating.
The 17-year-old was a surprise inclusion in the Indomitable Lions squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Doualla is among 62 players who have been suspended from the domestic league by Cameroon’s football federation (Fecafoot) for double identification or age fraud.
Doualla did not feature at this year’s Nations Cup finals, where Cameroon were knocked out in the last 16 by eventual runners-up Nigeria.
Yet, after being called up by then coach Rigobert Song, there was much comment on social media about whether Doualla was really a teenager when pictures of the player first surfaced.
His inclusion in the squad in Ivory Coast could lead to the five-time African champions being banned from future tournaments if his registration is proved to have been falsified.
Nations Cup regulations state that if a fraud or a forgery has been committed, the national association concerned will be suspended from participation in the following two editions of the continental showpiece.
For any administrative error in the registration of players, the national association concerned will be suspended from the next edition, the rules add.
BBC Sport Africa has contacted the Confederation of African Football (Caf) for comment, while Fecafoot has not responded to an email sent to its communication department.
