FIFA hands Meteors dramatic win

Ghana's Olympic Team, the Black Meteors have been handed a dramatic win following FIFA's decision to uphold a protest against Burkina Faso.

The Young Stallions beat the Meteors 2:0 in Ouagadougou on February 7 when the two sides played in the first leg Olympic qualifier.

However the Ghanaians protested Burkina's use of two over-aged players; Saidou Maidy Panandetigu and Fousseni Traore against tournament regulations.

However, the Burkinabe officials claimed that the players were eligible since any nation could field three over-aged players.

FIFA in a circular dated August 3, 2006 for participation for the men's football preliminary competition for the Beijing 2008 stated that only players born after January 1, 1985 could play in the preliminary round.

Records given by the Burkinabes showed that Saidou Maidy Panandetigu, captain of the side with registered shirt number 12 and passport number S1108688 was born on March 22, 1984 while Fousseni Traore with jersey number 4 and holding passport number S1106385 was born on July 18, 1984.

Also under FIFA's Match Eligibility regulations, only players born on or after 1 January 1985 are eligible to feature in the preliminary round of the Beijing 2008 competition.

With the ruling, Ghana goes into the second leg with a three points and three goals advantage.