Zacharie Boucher haunted by his past: Madagascar drops him from its squad

Having been called up by Corentin Martins for the very first time, the 34-year-old goalkeeper will not, after all, be joining the Madagascan national team.

Zacharie Boucher was, however, set to play his first matches for the Madagascar national team. The France-born goalkeeper was due to make his debut in the first two fixtures of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

But the goalkeeper, who currently plays for Troyes, was quickly caught up in his past. Following the announcement of manager Corentin Martins’ squad list, an interview with Zacharie Boucher conducted in 2018 by L’Equipe resurfaced and sparked controversy.

“I am French; I have never been Malagasy. I don’t know why it all came out like that. As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing to it. You only have to look at my passport. It says ‘French’ on it. If the manager calls me up, the answer is no. What’s more, from an administrative point of view, I can’t even do it. I’m not Malagasy,” Zacharie Boucher stated in 2018.

After the Malagasy Football Federation discovered this interview, Zacharie Boucher was removed from the list of players called up for the international break.