Tobias Sylvester
World soccer ruling body, FIFA has sanctioned the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over the invasion of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja after the country failed to qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
FIFA Sanctions Nigeria
KanyiDaily had reported how violence erupted at the Abuja Stadium following the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup play-off match between Nigeria and Ghana on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.
In a statement on its official website on Monday, May 2, FIFA detailed the reason for its sanctions as “order and security at matches failed to implement existing safety rules and failure to ensure that law and order are maintained in the stadium, invasion of the field of play and throwing of objects”.
“In line with FIFA’s zero-tolerance stance against discrimination and violence in football, a number of member associations have been punished due to the abusive behaviour by their respective supporters,” the communique also read.
The world football ruling body also imposed a 150,000 Swiss Franc (N63,996,216.90) fine on Nigeria as a result of the unruly behaviour of its fans, and one match without spectators.
KanyiDaily recalls that a Zambian doctor, Joseph Kabungo, who was a doping officer for the Confederation of African Football (CAF), was said to have lost his life during the chaos.
But the Nigerian Football Federation insisted that the CAF official died from cardiac arrest which it said had nothing to do with the violence that ensued after the match.
