Reports: FIFA knew before World Cup that Congo goalie was ineligible in key qualifying games

GENEVA (AP) — FIFA knew before the World Cup that Congo’s goalkeeper was ineligible when he played in multiple qualifying games and let him continue at the tournament, according to media reports on Tuesday.

The New York Times and French daily Le Monde cited internal FIFA documents about the case of Lionel Mpasi that increased scrutiny on the soccer body’s disciplinary processes under President Gianni Infantino after the World Cup furor around United States forward Folarin Balogun.

FIFA said on Tuesday its disciplinary officials dealt in March with a protest about Mpasi and “strongly rejects any suggestion that the FIFA President would interfere with these processes.”

The 32-year-old Mpasi was a France Under-17 international and never completed the FIFA process of switching his national eligibility to Congo where he has family ties, the reports said.

Mpasi played in all four of Congo’s games at the World Cup including the 1-1 draw against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, and a standout display in a 2-1 loss to England in the round of 32.

An Associated Press report in Atlanta about Mpasi facing England noted he “will have to console himself with one of the great defensive performances in a tournament filled with stellar play from the keepers.”

Yet Mpasi never was eligible to play in five games that took Congo to the World Cup and could have been forfeited under FIFA rules, the reports said Tuesday.

He played in five qualifiers in the past year including an African playoff win over Nigeria last November, and an intercontinental playoffs win over Jamaica in March that sent Congo to its first World Cup for 52 years.

The Nigerian soccer federation formally complained to FIFA about possible rule-breaking by Congo giving passports to players to make them eligible to represent the country.

The New York Times and Le Monde cited internal documents from the investigation that FIFA disciplinary lawyers noted Mpasi did not have formal approval from the governing body when he was first called up to the national team in 2021.

The FIFA disciplinary officials drafted options including letting Nigeria replace Congo to play Jamaica or dismissing the Nigerian complaint on the technicality of a late filing, the reports said. In a FIFA ruling from qualifying games for the 2018 World Cup, Bolivia defaulted two games for fielding an ineligible player.

The section of FIFA’s disciplinary code relating to fielding ineligible players states the body “may act ex officio,” meaning it has powers to take on a case outside of a complaint.

FIFA said on Tuesday a protest by Nigeria's federation to the disciplinary committee “was declared inadmissible by this FIFA body.”

“This disciplinary decision was communicated to (Nigeria) in early March 2026, and as no proper appeal was lodged the decision became final and binding," FIFA said in a statement.

The FIFA documents also noted, Le Monde reported, that defaulting Congo’s results in qualifying games that Mpasi played would have sent Burkina Faso instead into the African playoffs.

The reports on Tuesday were published one day before officials from Congo, Nigeria and Burkina Faso were set to attend a three-day summit of the 54-member Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Cape Verde. Infantino is expected to attend.

The president of Congo’s soccer federation is a close friend of Infantino, Véron Mosengo-Omba, who was elected unopposed in May after being CAF general secretary for several years. Infantino and Mosengo-Omba studied together at university in Switzerland and later were colleagues at UEFA and FIFA.

The African soccer summit comes as Infantino is relying on the continent’s support in the FIFA presidential election scheduled in March.

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

FILE - Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi makes a save over England's Jude Bellingham during a World Cup round of 32 soccer match in Atlanta, on July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California couple has been arrested on child abuse charges following an investigation into a surrogacy scheme involving at least 21 children, authorities said Tuesday.

Silvia Zhang and her husband, Guojun Xuan face several counts of child abuse and conspiracy to commit child abuse, accessory after the fact, and dissuading a witness, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said during a news conference Tuesday morning.

Prosecutors are seeking a $100 million bail for the couple because of the serious nature of the charges and due to their flight risk potential, Hochman said.

Fifteen children were removed from the couple’s opulent home in Arcadia last year after an allegation of abuse, and another six living elsewhere were also located. They ranged in age from 2 months to 13 years, with most between 1 and 3. Police believe Zhang gave birth to one or two of the children while the rest were born by surrogate.

Hochman said the couple set up a surrogacy agency that they operated from their home and used that agency to hire surrogates throughout U.S.

“The house could only be described as a house of horrors for these incredible young children,” Hochman said.

Zhang and Xuan were first arrested in May 2025 after a hospital reported that their 2-month-old infant had a traumatic head injury, the result of a nanny at the home violently shaking the baby, according to Arcadia police.

Arcadia police did not file charges at the time, in order to finish a full investigation, they said.

Hochman said the couple set up three rooms they called learning centers, where the children spent several hours a day sitting at desks under the supervision of nannies.

Through an extensive surveillance system including motion-activated cameras, the couple watched as their nannies subjected the children to daily beatings and physical abuse, he said.

The nannies were told “not to leave any physical marks on the children,” Hochman said.

During a search warrant of the couple’s home last year, police examined surveillance footage that showed the nannies beating the children. They issued an arrest warrant for the nanny seen hurting a 2-month-old infant, Chunmei Li, but she could not be found.

Surrogacy is an agreement between parties to have a woman become pregnant, typically through an embryo transfer, and deliver a baby for another parent.

The practice has no federal regulation, leaving it up to states to set the rules if they choose to allow it.

California is considered a “surrogacy-friendly state” because it has clear laws governing the process. Both sides are required to have lawyers, and there must be a written, notarized contract before an embryo transfer takes place.

Investigators have said they were looking into whether the couple had misled surrogates around the country. At least eight women had come forward to say they were aggressively pursued by the couple to serve as surrogates.

The women, many of whom were first-time surrogates, say they were given misleading or incomplete information about the couple’s family situation and intentions.

At least one, Kayla Elliott, is now trying to get custody of a baby she birthed for the couple.

Marcelo reported from New York City.

FILE - An aerial view shows the home of Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan on July 16, 2025, in Arcadia, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)