Meschak Elia of DR CongoBackpage pix

DR Congo forward Meschak Elia handed 12-month ban for age falsification

The Congolese Association Football Federation (Fecofa) has banned Meschak Elia from all sports facilities in the county with an extension to the national team's Caf and Fifa tournaments.

Elia, born in 1996, was found guilty of falsifying his age in his passport to 22 years.

Last August, the two-time Caf Confederation Cup winner was expected to join Belgian giants Anderlecht but went AWOL since the end of the 2018-19 season.

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Elia sought asylum in Switzerland and tried to join Swiss top-flight outfit Young Boys with the falsified passport.

According to a statement on the TP Mazembe website, the highest court of Congolese football ruled that "the age contained in the new passport of Meschack Elia Lina is a forgery in writing."

The 2016 African Nations Championship (Chan) winner was also found guilty of passive corruption, for attacking the honour of TP Mazembe and its President. As a result, Elia has received a year-long ban from all football-related activities.

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