Cameroonian club Victoria United has defended Wilfried Nathan Douala following allegations of age cheating against the midfielder.
The 17-year-old was surprise selected in the Indomitable Lions squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Douala is one of 62 players suspended from the Cameroonian league by the Cameroon Football Federation (Fekafut) for reasons including double identification and lying about his age.
Douala did not play in this year's Nations Cup final, with Cameroon being eliminated in the last 16 by eventual runners-up Nigeria.
However, there were many comments on social media about whether Douala was really a teenager when the player's photo was first published after being called up by then coach Rigoberto Song.
If it turns out that Ivory Coast's registration information was falsified, the five-time African champion could be expelled from future tournaments.
Nations Cup regulations state that in the event of fraud or forgery, the relevant national association will be suspended from participating in the next two continental competitions.
The rules add that if there is any administrative error in player registration, the relevant national association will be suspended from the next tournament.
BBC Sport Africa has contacted the Confederation of African Football (Caf) for comment, but Fekafoot did not respond to an email sent to its communications department.
