Introduction
Joseph Mwepu Ilunga (22 August 1949 – 8 May 2015) was a football defender from Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). His name is also written as Alunga Mwepu.
Club career
Ilunga played club football for Englebert TP Mazembe in his native Zaire, with whom he won the 1967 African Cup of Champions and 1968 African Cup of Champions.
International career
Ilunga played for his country, then called Zaire, during the 1974 FIFA World Cup. During a group match against Brazil, he ran out of his team's defensive wall and kicked away a free kick before the ball was in play. He was subsequently cautioned, but some commentators felt that he seemed oblivious as to what he had done wrong. However, Ilunga 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. Zaire went on to lose that match 3–0. They also lost their first two matches to Scotland 2–0 and Yugoslavia 9–0.
Zaire were then the first sub-Saharan African team to qualify for the World Cup finals; however, during the tournament the players discovered they would not be paid.
Death
Ilunga died in May 2015 after a long illness in the Saint-Joseph de Limete Hospital, Kinshasa.