The outgoing week is loaded with many talking points, but one has to narrow down to the crucial trending ones. The Lagos State Football Association is rebranding the FA Cup under the leadership of Hajji Liameed Gafar, to bring back the glamour.
The Nigeria National League has confirmed Ikenne as venue for its Super 4 playoffs slated for May, just as the Nigeria Professional Football League is approaching home stretch with three former Champions – Enyimba, Kano Pillars and Remo Stars – languishing in the relegation zone of the elite domestic league. However, some other developments call for evaluation in this piece.
After weeks of expectations from Nigerian fans over the protest of the Nigeria Football Federation against DR Congo, the country’s football body announced that it has started an appeal proceeding against the decision of the world body, FIFA, to dismiss the petition of Nigeria.
It did not come as a surprise to me because from the start, I do not think the NFF should go through such after the Super Eagles failed to pick a ticket in a group that had Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Benin Rwanda and South Africa.
I want to liken the protest of the NFF to a masquerade dance in the Nigerian scenario. A masquerade from any part of the country dances anyhow, no matter the drum beats.
People watching will still clap and hail the masquerade, but in the case of the NFF, they chose the dance even when no one recognizes the body as a ‘masquerade.’
The petition was sent and no one knew whether it was sent on time or whether the required money was paid. It was a mere distraction in my view because players have themselves to blame for not fighting hard to qualify outright.
Some of the players might not play in the World Cup ever. It is a shame that despite the country’s array of stars, Nigeria will miss the World Cup back-to-back.
It is a systemic failure. Football games are won, not only in 90 minutes, but with other administrative steps expected by the administrators.
Sadly, FIFA did not even consider the petition, it was thrown out and yet, the NFF, rather than telling Nigerians that the petition was thrown out, came out with a statement that they will appeal FIFA’s decision, meaning that the body was still involved in masquerade dance.
As if that was not enough, the bombshell came from the Confederation of Africa Football that the AFCON trophy Senegal won two months back has been withdrawn by its Appeal Committee and given to Morocco with 3-0 win margin.
How? Rules were quoted from the books, but one wonders why those rules were not applied in the initial ruling of the Ethics Committee of the body that threw out the first protest of Morocco.
Why did CAF wait for two months to come up with the verdict? Many lawyers have interpreted the judgment in different ways, but I want to look at why the referee continued the match when the law says the contrary.
The referee was not mentioned in the ruling, while the coach who ordered the players out was given only a five match ban. Both of them deserve to be severely punished.
CAF should have imposed a hefty fine on Senegal and also ban them from taking part in the next edition of the competition.
That could have been better than outright withdrawal of the trophy, which I consider to be an extreme. It is a shame and I am not surprised that Senegal has already taken the case to the Court of Arbitration.
I am positive they will win at CAS because CAF should have triggered its laws on match day and handed the trophy to Morocco.
Some match betting guys wrote the betting companies to ask for money after Morocco was declared winner, but they were told that the issue was already settled.
Whatever punishment CAF decides to apply should not include stripping of the trophy. It is a shame and it sparks suspicion of some sort.
The same Morocco jailed some Senegalese fans and also declined hosting WAFCON, which CAF has postponed without naming another host.
This means Morocco is still waiting to host if the latest verdict stands, perhaps! This is a shame in the administration of the game on the continent.
Some people already said that this can only happen in Africa. CAF has set a very bad example that will also form a reference point in future tournaments.
It also means that the referee’s decision cannot be tagged as the final outcome of any game. CAF handled the whole proceedings poorly and it is a big shame on the entire continent.
It is expected that many issues will unfold on this trending verdict of CAF in the coming days, but it is clear that the African football body has dragged the image of the game into the mud.
