Gold Cup 2017: Florent Malouda’s start puts tournament credibility in jeopardy
While French Guiana were trying to make a statement by playing the ineligible Florent Malouda, the Frenchman’s appearance turned the game against Honduras into a farce.
The controversy over Florent Malouda’s inclusion on French Guiana’s roster at the Gold Cup has been this summer’s soap opera. While he didn’t take the field in this past Friday’s 4-2 loss to Canada, French Guiana coach Jair Karam was outraged that he was told of the rule change just days before the start of the tournament. Incensed at CONCACAF for applying FIFA rules on cap-tied players, Karam even scolded the translator at the post-game news conference at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey for failing to properly repeat his statement in English and for not mentioning Malouda’s name.
As Sports Illustrated reported on the eve of the tournament: “It was believed Malouda, who was born in the Guianan capital of Cayenne, could participate because the Ligue de Football de la Guyane isn’t a FIFA member. Therefore, he wouldn’t be breaking the rules by turning out for another FIFA nation after becoming cap-tied to France. CONCACAF counts several such countries, including fellow 2017 Gold Cup qualifier Martinique and 2007 Gold Cup Cinderella Guadeloupe, among its members. Their teams can compete for continental honors but can’t enter the World Cup because they’re each technically overseas departments of France.”
That’s not so. CONCACAF is clear in its rules for this Gold Cup (unlike what had been practice at previous editions), stating: “Each participating member association shall select its national representative team from the best players who are nationals of its country and under its jurisdiction, and are eligible for selection in accordance with the provisions of the applicable FIFA regulations.”
Four days later at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Karam said to heck with the rules and decided to start the former Chelsea star, capped by France 80 times, in midfield versus Honduras. While one could argue the merits of CONCACAF’s rules, the decision by French Guiana to start Malouda (he also wore the captain’s armband) turned the entire evening, and potentially the entire tournament, into a farce.
“This game is tainted from start to finish,” observed Alexi Lalas at halftime from Fox Sports’ Los Angeles studio.
Despite the 0-0 final score (yet another example of how low Honduras have fallen in the last year), the game had been over the moment Malouda stepped onto the field. But no one stopped him. Not the referee or a CONCACAF official. His ineligibility, according to the rules, means the game will automatically be recorded as a win for Honduras. Instead, the match went on as scheduled and played for the entire 90 minutes, even though what everyone was witnessing was a sham, a mockery of the game. Malouda now becomes the first and only person to have played at a World Cup, European Championship and Gold Cup, forever relegated to a quiz question among soccer fans.
In a statement released during the game, CONCACAF said its disciplinary committee was reviewing the issue. Aside from an automatic 3-0 loss, French Guiana could also endure other penalties such as fines and suspension from international tournaments. Most troubling is the automatic win for Honduras and the 3-0 win they would be awarded. As teams battle for a spot in the knockout round among the best third-place teams from the group stage, the awarding of three goals to Honduras (when goal differential is the tie-breaker) will go a long way in giving them an advantage over other teams trying to do the same.
Malouda, who at 37 is the second oldest player at the Gold Cup, represented an interesting juxtaposition to 16-year-old Alphonso Davies of Canada, who is the tournament’s youngest player and currently the tournament’s top scorer with three goals. The Vancouver Whitecaps player has been the catalyst for Canada’s achievements so far at this Gold Cup. His goal gave Canada the lead against Costa Rica in the night’s first game, which ultimately ended 1-1.
Should Davies’ form continue, there’s no telling how far this scrappy Canada team can go once the knockout round starts next week. Davies had previously scored two goals against French Guiana, a game Malouda did not partake in. Against Costa Rica, Davies was subbed off in the 81st minute with an ankle injury, something Canada coach Octavio Zambrano said was nothing to worry about. He should be in the starting lineup this Friday against Honduras in Frisco, Texas.
“He’s not limping and I spoke with our physio and he assured that he’s going to be ready for the next match,” Zambrano assured. “Whether we decide to put him in at the start or just kind of assess a little bit and leave him out, we have some fresh legs that want to play. We may opt to keep him out and see how the game unfolds and put him in if the game demands it.”
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Zambrano refused to discuss the Malouda situation with reporters, saying that “people make decisions of their own volition. They have their reasons … I’m sure they will sort it out at the CONCACAF level.”
What took place in Houston featured the best and worst the game has to offer. Alas, even a great Davies goal can’t erase the black eye CONCACAF received from Malouda’s presence on the field.