Katompa Mvumpa banned after playing under false identity
June 11, 2021
The German Football Association (DFB) has handed VfB Stuttgart striker Silas Katompa Mvumpa a three-month ban and a €30,000 ($36.3m) fine after the player admitted to having played under a false under identity for several years.
Stuttgart announced earlier this week that the Congolese forward they had known as Silas "Wamangituka" was actually called Katompa Mvumpa and was 22 years old, not 21.
"We knew that Silas would be sanctioned by the DFB and so did he; that's how it has to be according to the statutes," said Stuttgart sporting director Sven Mislintat. "However, the sentence also takes into account the particular circumstances of this case. We are happy that the legal side of this has now been dealt with."
Katompa Mvumpa had been playing under the name "Wamangituka" since signing for French second-division side Paris FC in 2018, a step Stuttgart believe he was forced to take by his agent who wanted to remove any ties to his former club in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and thus avoid having to pay any compensation fees.
But it also saw Katompa Mvumpa become dependent on his agent, a situation which sporting director Mislintat has described as "human trafficking."
Since signing for Stuttgart in 2019, Katompa Mvumpa, who often went just under the name "Silas," has scored 18 goals in 54 league games, helping Stuttgart win promotion back to the Bundesliga in 2020, where they finished an impressive ninth this season.
At a press conference held following the revelation of Katompa Mvumpa's true identity, Mislintat and Stuttgart chairman Thomas Hitzlsperger reiterated their full support for their player, and said they would consider legal action against his agent if possible.
The ban, which lasts until September 11, is unlikely to affect Katompa Mvumpa or Stuttgart too much as the player continues to recover from a ligament tear.