World football’s governing body, FIFA, has sanctioned both the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the DR Congo Football Federation following disciplinary issues that occurred during the controversial African play-off for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The sanctions were confirmed in FIFA’s latest disciplinary overview for the qualifiers, months after the tense encounter between the Nigeria national football team and the DR Congo national football team.
The decisive match, played in Morocco on November 16, 2025, ended dramatically as DR Congo triumphed 4–3 on penalties to progress to the intercontinental play-offs. However, the aftermath of the fixture has continued to generate controversy.
According to FIFA’s findings, Nigeria was punished for incidents involving spectator behaviour during the match. The governing body ruled that fans threw objects inside the stadium, an offence under Article 17 and Article 17.2.b of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. As a result, the NFF was handed a fine of 1,000 Swiss francs.
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DR Congo’s football federation received a more severe financial penalty after supporters were found guilty of using laser pointers or similar electronic devices during the game. The act violated Article 17.2.d of the disciplinary regulations, leading to a 5,000 Swiss francs fine for the Congolese federation.
Beyond the disciplinary sanctions, tensions surrounding the fixture remain unresolved.
Nigeria has already lodged a formal protest with FIFA over the eligibility of several players who represented DR Congo in the play-off final. The complaint, submitted on December 15, 2025, alleges that the Congolese federation misled FIFA while securing nationality switches for a number of overseas-born footballers.
In the petition, the Nigerian federation requested an investigation and urged the global body to consider disqualifying DR Congo from the qualification process if any irregularities are confirmed.
Nigeria argued that some of these players were granted approval to represent DR Congo only days before the decisive encounter despite being called up earlier.
Meanwhile, DR Congo are continuing their preparations for the intercontinental stage of the qualification campaign. They are scheduled to face the winner of the semi-final between New Caledonia national football team and Jamaica national football team on March 31 in a decisive match for a place at the World Cup.
While FIFA’s disciplinary sanctions address the match-day incidents, attention now turns to the governing body’s expected verdict on Nigeria’s protest, which could yet have implications for DR Congo’s place in the qualification race.
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