World Cup 2022: does the shadow of exclusion hang over Tunisia?

The Tunisian team before a match at the CAN in 2019. (Illustration).

REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

An open conflict between the Ministry of Sports and the Tunisian Football Federation appears to be a threat that could deprive Tunisia of the Qatari World Cup.

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With our correspondent in Tunis

,

It's a distant threat, but very real if things leave it at that.

It all started at the end of May after the play-off matches for the maintenance of the Tunisian championship in the first division, escorted by suspicions of corruption.

The Tunisian Federation has sanctioned some players, but the decision was too "hasty" according to the Ministry of Sports, and it was the last straw for the authority which no longer supports the behavior of the FTF.

The legal representative of the Ministry thus declared during a press conference that the federal office of the Federation could be dissolved if serious shortcomings were found during the investigation.

Political interference equals exclusion

A possibility that would then constitute political interference that FIFA could not hide.

The International Federation thus has the power to exclude Tunisia from all competitions as it did recently with

, banned from participating in the CAN 2023 qualifiers.

For the moment, the Ministry seems inclined to wait to act on the Federation, but if the tensions between the two entities are confirmed, the Eagles of Carthage could well be deprived of the World Cup in Qatar.

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• Tunisia

• World Cup 2022

• Soccer