ZURICH, Switzerland -- Tiny Cape Verde, the feel-good story of African football this year, was thrown out of the final World Cup qualifying playoffs after FIFA ruled Thursday that the island nation fielded an ineligible player in a decisive qualifying win over Tunisia. Ultra Boost Australia . Tunisia, now without a coach after Nabil Maaloul quit and criticized his players following the countrys apparent failure, was instead awarded a 3-0 victory by forfeit and reinstated to Africas 10-team playoffs, which will be drawn on Monday and start next month. Cape Verde ironically benefited from ineligible player sanctions against Equatorial Guinea earlier in qualifying to have the chance to overtake Tunisia, but was found guilty by FIFAs disciplinary committee of using suspended defender Fernando Varela in its 2-0 win in Rades on Saturday in the decisive final round of group games. That saw the Cape Verdeans move ahead of then-leader Tunisia to win the group. Africas five representatives in Brazil next year will be decided in the playoffs. Cape Verde was looking to reach the World Cup for the first time. FIFA said Varela was ineligible because he had not fully served a four-game ban for a red card in a qualifier in March, which was also one of two games Cape Verde was awarded 3-0 by FIFA because of Equatorial Guineas ineligible player. Tunisia complained formally to FIFA earlier Thursday over Varelas participation and the Cape Verdean Football Federation was stripped of the win and its playoff place and fined 6,000 Swiss francs ($6,447), FIFA said. The federation can appeal the decision. A country with only half a million people and limited football resources, Cape Verde won over many fans this year after it qualified for the African Cup for the first time in its history and surprised by reaching the quarterfinals before losing to Ghana. However, it became the seventh country in Africas beleaguered World Cup qualifying competition to be sanctioned by FIFA for fielding an ineligible player, with Ethiopia, Togo, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Gabon all also forfeiting games. The disciplinary case against Cape Verde delayed FIFAs publishing of its latest monthly world rankings by several hours Thursday. The rankings will be used to decide which five African teams are seeded for next weeks playoff draw. Tunisia will now join Ivory Coast, Ghana, Algeria and Nigeria as the five seeded teams in the draw. Egypt, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Senegal and Ethiopia will be unseeded. Maaloul , theTunisia coach, had apologized and resigned following the 2-0 home loss to Cape Verde, when the Tunisian fans booed their own team. "My players were totally hopeless," Maaloul said. "There were eight of the 11 who did not take any responsibility." NMD CS1 Australia . -- Valentin Zykov scored in overtime as the Baie-Comeau Drakkar rallied to a 3-2 victory over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Sunday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action. Ultra Boost Cheap Australia .ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams. http://www.nmdaustraliasale.com/nmd-racer-shoes-australia.html . -- Canada played to expectation up until halftime.KAMLOOPS, B.C. -- B.C. Lions head coach Mike Benevides says his team has a better handle on what makes Khalif Mitchell tick this time around. The hulking defensive tackle helped the Lions win the 2011 Grey Cup, however a series of incidents on an off the field the following season precipitated a trade to the Toronto Argonauts prior to the 2013 campaign. The mercurial Mitchell rebounded in Toronto and asked for his release from the Argos to pursue NFL opportunities this winter, but when those failed to materialized the Lions surprised the rest of the CFL by bringing him back into the fold. "I think hes a person thats matured. Hes a person thats experienced some things," Benevides said at training camp this week. "The biggest thing I see is everybody else understanding who he is. "I think hes very conscious of whats occurring and whats going on around him. What people need to know is he is not a bad person. Hes a good person." Benevides would know. He was the Lions defensive co-ordinator back in 2011 when Mitchell had his best season, compiling 33 tackles and six sacks. "I see everybody understanding who he is and sometimes you have a misconception or you dont understand someone and that sometimes creates issues," said Benevides. "Khalif is a very charismatic guy, hes a very passionate guy. He enjoys the game. His teammates and his team and the guys around him are very important to him." But it was those teammates who wanted him out the door after the six-foot-six, 315-pound Mitchell made headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2012. The league suspended him two games for violently hyperextending the arm of an opponent that July before fining him an unspecified amount for making multiple throat-slashing gestures in another game. Mitchell was then fined and suspended again for violating the CFLs social media policy after using a racial slur on Twitter. Benevides said the teams leadership group was consulted when the idea to was first floated to bring Mitchell back, and it was agreed that all parties could move on and work towards winning the Grey Cup, which the Lions host in November. "It was a long process and discussion. There was a lot of guys that I spoke to and they were the ones who said Bring him back in the room," said Benevides. "At the end of the day we all have a job to do and thats win." But while his coach has seen growth and maturity, the 29-year-old Mitchell emphasized hes still the same person in many ways. "I havent changed who I am. Even when I came back to B.C. I was like Im going to be Khalif and they were like We understand that," said Mitchell, referring to himself in the third person. "I think a lot of people dont understand who Khalif is because a lot of people only see me in football or from the negative things that Ive produced in the media. NMD Online Australia. quot; Lions running back Andrew Harris expressed delight when Mitchell was traded last year, tweeting "Good riddance!!!!" after the deal with the Argos was announced. The Winnipeg native said hes willing to move on because of Mitchells unique skill set and a hope that he has learned from his mistakes. "Khalif is a beast. Hes a guy that can help us win football games, and thats the most important things," said Harris. "All the off-field stuff that happened in the past, its just maturing from that now. Things happen with people and youve just got to move on from that and trust that there will be better judgement in the future. "Theres definitely no animosity between us. Were teammates now and were just working together for the one goal and thats the Grey Cup." Lions linebacker Solomon Elimimian added that there werent any awkward conversations when Mitchell walked back into the locker-room. "I think the guys all know Khalif, and thats the biggest thing for us," said Elimimian. "We know that hes a good guy. We know he means well. We know that hes a very bright man. But also the thing is hes a great football player and thats what we need in the locker-room and on the field." Lions defensive back Ryan Phillips said it was made clear to Mitchell upon his return that he can be himself as long as it doesnt hurt the team. "Just understand that theres consequences to mistakes," said Phillips. "Hes grown up from that. We know the dominant player he can be as long as hes focused on football." Theres no doubt that Mitchell will help an already solid defence get better. The Lions surrendered the second fewest rushing yards per game (94.4) in 2013, but allowed the second most rushing touchdowns (17) and recorded the third fewest sacks (45). Mitchell put the drama from 2012 behind him and nearly matched his 2011 numbers while playing with Toronto last season, registering 32 tackles and five sacks. "In order to be successful in our division, youve got to be very good against the run. Youve got to be big inside," said Benevides. "Hes another big, effective body that can have an impact in the interior line of scrimmage, and good teams win at the line of scrimmage." Mitchell said he never expected to return to the West Coast after his messy divorce with the Lions last year, but is ready to do what he does best -- stop the run and get after the quarterback. "I definitely wasnt expecting to come back. Im sure when they told me Good riddance and Bye they werent expecting me to come back either," he said. "Im here now and regardless of what the situation was, at the end of the day weve got to win a championship." ' ' '