Zurich: Ethiopia have been thrown out of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup because of an unresolved dispute over leadership of the African country's football federation.
All four matches played by Ethiopia in Africa's Group 8 have been wiped from the record, FIFA said on Friday. The group now only comprises Morocco, Mauritania and Rwanda.
Rwanda had led the group with 12 points from five matches, with Morocco three points behind with a game in hand. Ethiopia had six points, while Mauritania had lost all five of its encounters.
The elimination of Ethiopia will not change the top of the table as Rwanda and Morocco had both beaten the team earlier this year. Mauritania had lost twice to Ethiopia.
Africa's 12 group winners and eight best runners-up advance to round three of the qualification system. The 20 teams are then placed in five groups, with each group winner claiming a spot in the World Cup finals.
Host South Africa qualified automatically as the continent's sixth team.
World football's governing body suspended Ethiopia in July for failing to comply with a so-called roadmap that aimed to resolve a crisis that arose after the dismissal of the federation's president in January.
FIFA was particularly upset with the failure to organise an extraordinary general assembly to decide who would be the federation's top officials.
Federation members who opposed president Ashebir Woldegiorgis in January elected their own top officials in a separate assembly that was not recognized by FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
They subsequently took over the federation's offices.
The roadmap, worked out with FIFA and CAF, included the recognition of Ashebir and the remaining members of the EFF executive committee unless an extraordinary general assembly set for March decided otherwise.
The Ethiopian federation had also committed to giving back the offices to the recognized federation officials.
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