President’s party order: Ligue 1 star barred from club return! | OneFootball

Before the thrilling Ligue 1 derby between OSC Lille and RC Lens, Lille star Chancel Mbemba is at the center of a huge controversy involving Congo.

A World Cup qualification has to be celebrated. Maybe even a little too much for Chancel Mbemba, captain of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who qualified with his country for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday night into Wednesday.

But while his national teammate Mukau has already returned to Lille, the former Marseille player has shown no sign of life at Lille’s training center this weekend, just before the northern derby against Lens.

'L'Equipe' reports that the Dogues center-back has not returned to Lille, even though he was expected back in training on Thursday in order to be available for Saturday’s big clash against the Sang et Or. The reason is that the Léopards captain has been required to attend a celebration organized by the Congolese president for this Friday or Saturday to mark this first qualification since 1974. That has understandably sparked the intense anger of his employer, Olivier Létang.

In a statement to L'Equipe, the LOSC president sharply criticized the decision of the Congolese football federation to keep hold of his player. “The Congolese federation unilaterally decided to keep the players until Monday, even though FIFA rules are clear: players must return to their clubs 48 hours after the match. The player should have been in Lille yesterday (Thursday) by late afternoon. The case is already before FIFA’s disciplinary committee, because this is a very dangerous precedent for all clubs that pay the players. The authorities are taking this very seriously and have already written to the Congolese federation.”

According to the president, the ECA (European Club Association) and the players’ union have also been informed of the matter, while the club had agreed to release its player after the derby, but not before. Several sanctions could be imposed on the Congolese federation, while Lens has also been affected by this mess. Arthur Masuaku is also being kept in Congo by his federation and will not be in Lille this Saturday either. A strange affair.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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