Sports

FIFA’s Hammer Dangles Over Nigeria

Published

8 years ago

August 18, 2018

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

While Ghana has accepted FIFA’s directive to stop the winding up of its Football Association as directed, Nigeria is yet to show sign of coming to terms with directives in order to avoid the hammer of suspension hanging over its head, even as the Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung insists the country must follow the dictates of its law.

FIFA had threatened to ban Ghana and Nigeria from international football unless both governments stopped interfering in the administration of the game in their countries.

FIFA announced it had agreed to work with Ghana “to offer leadership in reforming football administration in Ghana and in Africa,” and to also “to eradicate corruption and malfeasance and other associated criminal conduct from the administration of football in Ghana.” This is as Ghana agreed to FIFA’s dictates.

But Nigeria, which received the same measure of threat following what appears a government sponsored bid to remove the NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, from office, is not bulging even as the August 20 deadline draws dangerously close.

In spite of Acting President Yemi Osinbajo’s efforts when he met Pinnick and Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, the crisis still lingers.

Reports said Osinbajo directed Dalung to avoid anything that would incur FIFA’s wrath on Nigeria, but the minister has come out to say the acting president never gave such orders. Dalung denied reports that Osinbajo has ‘stamped’ the Pinnick- led NFF board.

Making a case against FIFA, counsel to Chris Giwa, Ardzard Habilla, said FIFA cannot ban Nigeria, saying that the laws of Nigeria must supersede FIFA’s decision

NAN reports that the Giwa board went to court following Amaju Pinnick’s emergence as president in an election conducted on September 30, 2014 in Warri.

The election prevented Giwa, who won an earlier NFF presidential election in Abuja on August 26, 2014, from assuming office.

The Supreme Court in April set aside a 2016 judgment of the Appeal court on the leadership tussle and sent the matter back to a Federal High Court sitting in Jos, which had earlier mandated Giwa to take over as president.

Minister of Sports, whose body language suggests he is rooting for the Giwa faction has said that at no time did Osinbajo approved Pinnick.

“It is a planted story and a fake news. There was no directive from the VP countering the court order. However, the issue is still being handled by the Committee of NFF Elders Stakeholders, therefore, we are hopeful that the parties in the crisis will be able to come to an amicable resolution of the issue. Nevertheless, the status quo remains.”

While football loving Nigerians await Monday August 20, 2018, the onus lies on the sports administrators to do the needful to avert the dangling hammer from falling.

Sports

FIFA Lists Six Females Among 52 Referees for 2026 World Cup

Published

3 weeks ago

April 10, 2026

Eric

FIFA on Thursday unveiled its list of match officials for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, including 52 referees, six of whom are women.

Football’s governing body will also take 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 member associations.

“The selected match officials are the very best in the world,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer.

“They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years. They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments.

“In addition, their performances in domestic and international matches were regularly assessed.”

The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the biggest in history, with a 48-team line-up and 104 matches to be played.

There are 41 more match officials than at Qatar four years ago, where 32 teams played 64 matches.

“The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women’s refereeing,” Collina said, with six women having already refereed in 2022.

AFP

Sports

AFCON 2025: CAS Overturns CAF Verdict

Published

1 month ago

March 25, 2026

Eric

African football has been plunged into fresh uncertainty after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) provisionally suspended a controversial ruling that stripped Senegal of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and awarded it to Morocco.

In an interim decision issued on Monday, CAS accepted Senegal’s appeal against the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeals Board and ordered a “freeze” on the implementation of its verdict.

The move effectively places the 2025 AFCON title in legal limbo pending a full hearing.

The dispute stems from a chaotic final played in January 2026, where the Teranga Lions of Senegal defeated the hosts, the Atlas Lions of Morocco, 1–0 after extra time. The match took a dramatic turn late on when a contentious penalty was awarded to Morocco.

Although the spot kick was missed, Senegal’s players briefly walked off the pitch in protest, prompting confusion before play eventually resumed, and the match was concluded. Weeks later, Morocco’s federation challenged the outcome, citing provisions within AFCON regulations relating to match forfeiture.

On March 17, CAF’s Appeals Board ruled in Morocco’s favour, declaring that Senegal’s walk-off constituted a breach severe enough to forfeit the match. The result was overturned to a 3–0 victory for Morocco, with Senegal stripped of the title.

Senegal swiftly condemned the decision as unjust and escalated the matter to CAS, arguing that the sanction was disproportionate and undermined the integrity of the on-field result.

CAS has now sided, at least temporarily, with Senegal’s request for urgent intervention.

By granting provisional measures, the tribunal signalled that enforcing CAF’s ruling before a full hearing could cause irreparable harm, particularly in a case involving the revocation of a major continental title.

The immediate consequence is that AFCON 2025 currently has no officially recognised champion. The trophy remains unassigned while legal proceedings continue.

Sports

AFCON 2025: George Weah Urges CAS to Overrule CAF’s Verdict

Published

1 month ago

March 21, 2026

Eric

African football legend George Weah has criticised the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for stripping Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and awarding it to Morocco.

CAF’s Appeal Board overturned Senegal’s 1–0 victory in the Rabat final after ruling that the team’s walk-off during a late penalty incident constituted a forfeit. The result was subsequently recorded as a 3–0 win in favour of Morocco, crowning the hosts as champions.

Reacting to the decision, Weah, a former Ballon d’Or winner and three-time African Player of the Year, argued that match outcomes should be determined on the pitch, not in post-match rulings.

“In football, the referee on the pitch is the final authority. Once a match is completed, the result obtained on the field must stand,” he said.

Weah warned that overturning completed matches sets a dangerous precedent for the sport.

“There is no sporting justification to nullify a match completed under the referee’s authority.

Otherwise, we risk a slippery slope where committee decisions override on-field calls,” he added.

The former AC Milan forward further stated that the ruling undermines the integrity and credibility of African football, raising concerns over fairness and consistency.