Goalkeeper's Old Comments Cost Him Madagascar Squad Spot Before Debut

Zacharie Boucher’s words from 2018 have caught up with him, costing the 34-year-old Troyes goalkeeper his place in Madagascar’s squad before he ever played a single minute for the island nation.

The Madagascar football federation had named Boucher to its squad just two days ago for upcoming 2027 African Cup of Nations qualifiers, scheduling him for matches against Nigeria on September 25 and Tanzania on September 29. The invitation was withdrawn almost as quickly as it arrived, after the federation unearthed a six-year-old interview in which Boucher had flatly rejected any prospect of representing Madagascar.

His words at the time left little room for interpretation. “I am French. I have never been Malagasy. I don’t know why everything came out like this. On my side, there is nothing. You just have to look at my passport. It says ‘French’ on it. If the coach calls me, it’s no. Moreover, administratively, I cannot even. I am not Malagasy,” Boucher said in the 2018 interview, responding to reported interest from then-Madagascar coach Nicolas Dupuis. Boucher was 26 at the time and, by the federation’s own account, still unaware he was eligible to represent the country.

The federation was direct in explaining its reversal. “Following a meeting held within the Federation, the coach was informed of public statements attributed to player Zacharie Boucher, in the context of an interview conducted several years ago, at a time when he was still unaware of his eligibility to represent Madagascar’s national team,” it said in a statement. “After exchanges between the various parties, it was decided not to retain the player for the next gathering of the Barea,” it added, using the national squad’s nickname.

By contrast, the circumstances surrounding Boucher’s eligibility had clearly shifted in the years between that interview and the federation’s recent approach. Players discovering eligibility through family heritage or previously unknown connections is not unusual in international football, and Boucher’s apparent willingness to accept the call-up this time around suggests his own position had evolved. The 2018 dismissal, though, proved impossible to set aside.

His case is a pointed reminder that public statements in football carry a long shelf life. Boucher now finds his first cap for Madagascar foreclosed by words spoken when the prospect seemed neither realistic nor desirable to him. The federation’s decision signals that rejecting a national team on the record, even under circumstances that have since changed, is not easily walked back.

Whether the federation leaves the door open for Boucher in future squads, or whether this episode closes that chapter entirely, remains to be seen.