Olagunju Kayode, a close associate to Toto Tamuz, says the 27-year old is still eligible for Nigeria at senior level.
Kayode confirmed this in response to questions over the player’s eligibility for Nigeria after he indicated his willingness to switch nationality, however SL10.ng’s researchers say this is not possible.
“Those saying Tamuz is not eligible for Nigeria need to get their facts right, he didn’t play for Israel at senior level. He was called up, sat on the bench all through,” he told SL10.ng.
“For the fact that he didn’t make his debut by FIFA laws he is still eligible for Nigeria, he didn’t play against Cyprus.”
SL10.ng can also reveal that from FIFA laws on players willing to switch nationality, a player yet to make his competitive debut for any nation can switch nationality provided they possess dual Nationality before turning 25, and are of course, un-capped.
Tamuz was born in Nigeria to former Nigeria International Clement Temile but was adopted by an Israeli Orit Tamuz after his father went into dire financial crisis hence his Hebrew surname.
He played for the youth teams of Israel with a special permission from FIFA despite not having an Israeli passport.
It was possible for him as he was granted an Israeli A1 visa by then deputy interior minister Ruhama Avraham but had to wait three years to be formerly eligible after the expiration of the stay.
However, according to a number of websites, Tamuz did play for the Israeli senior team, most notably against England in September 2007, and according to transfermarkt.com, Tamuz has ten caps with the senior team.
SL10.ng will continue to look into the situation, but according to data we can see, Tamuz is not eligible.