‘There are no doubts about his age. He is 17’ says the Italian Football Association (FIGC) regarding Lazio midfielder, Cameroon-born Joseph Minala accused few months ago of actually being 42 years.

Doubts on Minala’s actual age began in February, when an African football website claimed that he was pretending to be a teenager so he was eligible to play for Lazio’s youth side and had altered his passport to take a full 25 years of his actual birth date. That allegation led to an official investigation which saw him questioned by the league’s federal prosecutor. However a statement relased by FIGC on Wednesday confirmed that Minala has been cleared and is now free to resume his career. “The Federal Prosecutor has examined the report and ordered the investigation to be closed,” the statement read. There are no doubts about his age. He is 17,” the release stated. This latest development on the Minala saga has sparked debate among Cameroonians. “This is a joke. If he is indeed 17 then Eto’o should be 14 because he is obviously younger than this Minala. We want to watch him, what matters is what he can do at senior level. It’s not by playing with small children that he will think he is good,” a Cameroonian reacted. Another quickly retorted: “Most Cameroonians are just bunch of lazy haters. Those criticizing this kid don’t even know that there are ways to determine your age through bones exams, the same people bashing the guys are those who really went to Kumba to fix their birth certificates and are jealous to see a kid blossoming at an age when they were lazy eating Beignets haricot bouillie…”