Togo face points deduction after admitting error

Alaixys Romao

Togo's football federation has admitted fielding an ineligible player in a World Cup qualifier and are resigned to being punished by Fifa.

Federation member Toussa Komi Gabriel told BBC Sport on Tuesday that Alaixys Romao should not have played in their 2-0 win over Cameroon in Lome on 9 June.

"It's true that the Togolese team didn't find out if the player was qualified (to play) before using him," said Komi.

He also said they would not contest any Fifa charge, which is almost certainly going to be the loss of three points.

Komi's admission came hours after Ethiopia had confessed to using an ineligible player in their World Cup qualifier against Botswana on 8 June.

If Togo's points are redistributed to Cameroon, it will hand the Indomitable Lions a massive World Cup lifeline.

Cameroon currently trail Group I leaders Libya by two points but would move a point clear in the table with one game remaining.

Only the 10 group winners from the second round advance to contest in the final two-legged play-offs to decide the five nations who will qualify for Brazil 2014.

World Cup rules dictate that once a player has received two cautions in the qualifying campaign, he has an automatic one-match ban.

Africa has seen an unprecedented number of disciplinary actions from Fifa against countries in the 2014 qualifying campaign.

Burkina Faso and Gabon lost points for fielding Cameroon-born players who were ineligible to play for their national teams while Sudan lost three points for using a suspended player.

There is also a case pending against Equatorial Guinea for using imported players from Brazil and Colombia in their recent World Cup qualifiers.