Top shots of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are reportedly counting on a favourable ruling from FIFA this week, based on a similar case the world body judged in 2012 against Burkina Faso.
Sports247 reports that football followers worldwide will from this Monday keep keen attention on information reeling out of FIFA’s headquarters regarding an appeal lodged by NFF against DR Congo.
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The NFF’s petition alleges that, for last November’s World Cup qualification play-off final versus the Super Eagles, DR Congo featured several players who were not eligible, because their nationality clearances were gained ‘fraudulently.’
As the world now awaits FIFA’s ruling in the coming hours, NFF sources are pointing at 2012, when the global body cancelled Burkina Faso’s victory over Congo Republic in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Back then, FIFA’s verdict stated that Burkina Faso fielded Hervé Zengué in their match against Congo, though the defender was officially registered elsewhere as a Cameroonian and had not passed any nationality switch.
Burkina Faso said they had given Zengue a passport because he was married to a Burkinabe woman and then invited him to play for their national team, but FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee judged otherwise.
The committee decided that Burkina Faso’s football association breached the disciplinary code on ineligibility, and the match versus Congo of June 2nd, 2012 was declared to be lost by 3-0 and the FA fined 6,000 Swiss francs.
Nigeria will now bank on a clause in an analysis of FIFA’s verdict, which noted: “This incident highlighted severe administrative shortcomings, as the team was punished for failing to properly verify player eligibility.”
Sports247 adds that the key words that could swing this week’s verdict in Nigeria’s favour are ‘administrative shortcomings’ and ‘failing to properly verify player eligibility,’ as the NFF insist DRC ‘tricked’ FIFA to clear the contentious lads
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