Ali Dia

After a playing career at the lower levels in France and Germany,[4] and having already failed trials at Gillingham, AFC Bournemouth,[5] and Rotherham United playing once in a reserve game for the latter,[6] Dia joined non-league club Blyth Spartans, where he made only one substitute appearance – on 9 November 1996 in a Northern Premier League game against Boston United.

Days later, Dia was signed by Southampton manager Graeme Souness, after Souness received a phone call purporting to be from Liberian international and then-FIFA World Player of the Year George Weah. "Weah" told Souness that Dia was his cousin and had played for Paris Saint-Germain as well as 13 times for his country and should give him a chance at Southampton. None of this was true and the phone call to Souness was a hoax.[7] Souness was convinced and Dia was signed on a one-month contract. However, it is disputed who made the initial call to Souness. Some sources state it was Dia's friend from university,[7] while some say it was Dia's agent,[8] and it has also been suggested that it was Dia himself who made the call. It was later reported that the same stunt had been pulled on Gillingham, who offered Dia a trial, but was let go by manager Tony Pulis who said that Dia was "rubbish". Harry Redknapp, then manager of West Ham United, also received the same call but dismissed it as "a wind-up".[9]

Dia played just one game for Southampton, wearing the number 33 shirt, against Leeds United on 23 November 1996; he had originally been scheduled to play in a reserve team friendly against Arsenal, but the match was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch. In the match against Leeds, he came on as a substitute for the injured Matt Le Tissier after 32 minutes, but was later substituted himself (for Ken Monkou) in the 85th minute;[10] Leeds won the match 2–0. Le Tissier said: "He ran around the pitch like Bambi on ice; it was very embarrassing to watch."[11][12][13]

Dia was released by Southampton two weeks into his contract.[3] Following his release, he went on trial with Port Vale scoring twice in a reserve game against Sunderland.[6] After no offer from Vale followed, he briefly played for Conference National side Gateshead, before leaving in February 1997.[3] Dia played eight games for the North East outfit, including scoring on his debut in a 5–0 win over Bath City.[14] A day after his Gateshead debut, his George Weah hoax was revealed in the national media. A 2015 report from the Bleacher Report stated that Dia had also successfully pulled the same ruse on FinnPa and VfB Lübeck. He left both clubs following poor playing performances.[6]

Speaking to the Gateshead Post after the story broke, Dia laughed off the allegations and stated he had recently scored for Senegal in a 3–1 1998 World Cup qualifying win over Guinea. However, this claim was not true as Senegal had already been knocked out in the first round of qualifiers. Dia said: "I have been portrayed as a con man and a poor player, but I am neither and intend to prove people wrong. Obviously I'm disappointed not to have made it in the Premiership, but I've got faith in my own ability and my only concern now is Gateshead. My contract is just until the end of the season. But if things go well, who knows, I could stay longer."[6]

In the short spell from joining Saints to playing for Gateshead, he pocketed £3,500 in signing-on fees. Souness later admitted Southampton paid Dia about £2,000 for his 14 days at the club, while Dia received a £1,500 signing-on fee at Gateshead. Dia was eventually transfer listed by Gateshead after a spell of poor form. After leaving Gateshead, he had a brief spell at Spennymoor United.[6]

Dia studied business at Northumbria University in Newcastle, graduating in 2001.[15] He received a Master of Business Administration from San Francisco State University in 2003.[1] After finishing his education, Dia worked in the business sector in Qatar.[1] In 2016, Bleacher Report tracked down Dia and it was revealed that he was living in London. He told them that Southampton story was "hurtful" to him and his family but insisted that he was not a liar and that he trained with Southampton for a month and a half where he impressed before making his debut, despite previous reports that he spent less than a week with Southampton before he made his infamous debut.[1]

Dia has regularly featured in lists of bad players or bad transfers.[3][16] He was named at Number 1 in a list of "The 50 worst footballers" in The Times newspaper[17] and on ESPN's ranking of the 50 worst transfers in Premier League history.[18]

• Grégoire Akcelrod: French footballer who fraudulently attempted to gain professional contracts
• Alessandro Zarrelli: Italian footballer who fraudulently attempted to gain professional contracts
• Carlos Kaiser: Brazilian footballer who feigned injuries to conceal his lack of ability while contracted to professional clubs
• Živko Lukić: Serbian footballer and dentist who hoaxed his way into playing a match for Paris Saint-Germain

• Premier League Record Archived 19 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• The Search for Ali Dia Legendary Football Hoaxster Turned Houdini (Menary, Steve: 15 October 2015)