Comoros Fined 5,000 USD For Outfield Player Wearing Taped Number - "Failed to Respect The Shirt Number"
Update: The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have fined the Comoros Football Federation (FFC) for their outfield goalkeeper wearing a taped kit.
Defender Chaker Alhadhur started in goal for Comoros with his name on the back along with his usual number 3 taped over the number 16.
CAF fined the Comoros $5,000 US for "failure to respect the jersey number already registered on the CMS system by the player" and another $2,000 US for "the delay of the match caused by their players."
The Comores failed to respect the jersey number
The kickoff was delayed due to Alhadhur wearing "a shirt with a number that is not his when leaving the locker room." according to CAF.
Makeshift goalkeeper Alhadhur explained why he did not wore a proper kit. He thought goalkeeper Ali Ahamada would start in goal as he had tested negative for COVID-19 that morning. But CAF rules state that a player must have a negative PCR test 48 hours before his team’s next match in order to play.
Comores thought that one of their actual goalkeepers would be able to play
"We really thought until the end that Ali was going to play and that CAF was going to do what was necessary," Alhadhur said.
In the hallway just prior to kickoff, Alhadhur said: "An official sees me with the number 16, he tells me that it was not possible, I must have the 3. Suddenly, obliged to put blue tape, it is there that appeared this mythical jersey."
CAF also imposed a $10,000 fine on the Comoros for non-compliance with the required Covid-19 protocol.
Monday, January 24: Comoros Outfield Player in Goal Wears Taped Number
Today the Comoros played hosts Cameroon in the round of 16 of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. The island nation has never advanced this far in the history of the tournament, however, they faced a major setback as 12 of their players were unavailable due to testing positive for Covid.
Goalkeeper Shirt with Taped Number
It is already extremely unfortunate to have 12 players from a team miss a match, however the positive Covid results were distributed about as unlucky as it gets. All three Comoros goalkeepers were forced to miss the historic round of 16 match due to Covid and injuries, leaving the Comoros no other option than to start an outfield player in goal.
Left-back Chaker Alhadhur, who is only 1.72 meters tall, was chosen to play in goal. He normally wears the number '3' on his kit, however his name and number were not printed on a Comoros GK shirt in time for the kick-off.
This resulted in a D.I.Y. fix-up, which meant taping Alhadhur's number '3' onto an already printed GK jersey. The tape chosen was a lighter shade of blue than the kit, not at all matching the regular gold font.
It perhaps could have been used to first cover up the original number, with gold or white tape being applied afterwards. In fact, the original number is still clearly visible.
Alhadhur's name was somehow printed onto the shirt in the proper golden font, though. The golden number on the front of the shirt was simply covered up with dark blue tape.
When Cameroon scored the opening goal of the match, it became quite apparent that Alhadhur was out of his element, as he was nowhere near the ball when he dove to make a save.
What do you think of this unfortunate situation for the Comoros? Comment below.
