Joseph Mwepu Ilunga (22 August 1949 – 8 May 2015) was a football defender from Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
Zaire were then the first sub-Saharan African team to qualify for the World Cup finals.
[5] However, Mwepu claimed that he was quite aware of the rules – as would be expected from an experienced player in a successful side – and was hoping that the referee would send him off.
The intended red card would have been a protest against his country's authorities, who were alleged to be depriving the players of their rightful earnings.
[7] Mwepu Ilunga died in May 2015 after a long illness[8] in the Saint-Joseph de Limete Hospital, Kinshasa.