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| Shehu did not have any business playing the Nigeria-Algeria 1-1 draw match… |
Efio-Ita Nyok|12 December 2017
FIFA has punished Nigeria for using an ineligible player in the person of defender Abdullahi Shehu in their final World Cup qualifier against Algeria where the match ended with a 1-1 draw; FIFA is fining Nigeria with whooping $6,000 (N2, 160, 000) for alleged oversight.
Accordingly, FIFA has canceled Nigeria’s 1-1 draw against Algeria in the 2018 World Cup qualifier and has instead awarded Algeria a 3-0 win after the Super Eagles fielded Shehu who should have been suspended for the game.
Though the sanction does not significantly affect Nigeria’s World Cup place in Russia before the Algeria tie, FIFA still ruled against Shehu playing the whole match against Algeria even though he should have been suspended for picking up yellow cards in two previous qualifier matches.
Recall that the defender was cautioned in the Super Eagles 1-0 win over Zambia in October that sealed Nigeria’s spot in Russia, having been shown a yellow card in the first leg of their second round tie against Swaziland in November 2015 according to the BBC.
However, the Super Eagles still tops Group B but with 13 points instead of 14 while Algeria’s total at the bottom is now four instead of 2 points.
This incident is trending on Nigeria’s Twitter space as the fifth most popular tweet with over 5000 tweets as at press time.
Could it very well be an oversight or a deliberate attempt born out of corruption?
Efio-Ita Nyok
Is a Blogger, the Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of NegroidHaven
