Former Barcelona star accused of sending his twin brother to play in his place as he’s ‘caught out’ for bizarre reason
FORMER Barcelona starlet Edgar Ie has been accused of sending his twin brother to play for Dinamo Bucharest in his place.
Ie, 30, made one first team appearance for Barca under Luis Enrique.
After leaving Turkish side Basaksehir in January, the Guinea-Bissau international signed for Romanian side Dinamo Bucharest the following month.
Ie has so far played five times for Dinamo.
But according to Romanian journalist Emmanuel Rosu, figures within the club believe that Ie has sent his twin brother Edelino to play instead.
Having started at Barcelona, Edgar Ie has also played for the likes of Villarreal, Lille, Nantes, Trabzonspor and Feyenoord.
Edelino, meanwhile, has spent much of his career in the Portuguese lower leagues.
While his last known club was Tluchowia Tluchow in Poland.
Rosu adds that suspicions have been raised due to a language-barrier with their player.
They reportedly believe Edgar Ie to be fluent in English, but have found that they cannot communicate in the language with their player.
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The report also alleges that their player has refused to show them his driving license.
Dinamo have collected eight points in the five matches in which he has played.
According to Spanish outlet Marca, they could lose those points if it is proved that it is not Edgar Ie that has been playing for them.
Although a figure within the Romanian Football Federation has told local outlet iAMsport: “There is no planned scenario for this situation.
“If the player who played is not the real one, there could be sanctions. Legally, a DNA test can decide everything.
“Of course, Dinamo never intended to use the twin brother instead of the correct one.
“I think that, if the DNA result confirms that it is his twin brother, they should consider a defence, considering that they did not know about this.
“The possibility will have to be considered, but if Dinamo was deceived and manages to prove it, then the risk of losing points does not exist.”
Edgar Ie joined Barcelona in 2012 from Sporting Lisbon, where he had been in the academy with his twin brother Edelino.
He went on to play once for Barca’s first team, replacing Jeremy Mathieu and featuring alongside the likes of Andres Iniesta in a 4-0 Copa del Rey win over Huesca in 2014.
His last appearance in a matchday squad for former club Basaksehir came on December 23, when he was an unused substitute for a match against Trabzonspor.
He was called up by Guinea Bissau for the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year and made one appearance in the group stage, playing the full 90 minutes as they lost 1-0 to Nigeria on January 22.