The World Football Governing body, FIFA, on Monday, imposed sanctions on Nigeria for the misconduct of its fans during the world cup qualifying game against Ghana in Abuja on May 29, 2022.
The FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee fined Nigeria CHF150,000 (N63.9million) following violence that occurred at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja after the country’s failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
They also ordered the country to play their next international match behind closed doors, meaning that the Nigerian team will play without spectators.
This is contained in a letter issued by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee in their summary jurisdiction over incidents that occurred during the World Cup qualifiers.
What FIFA is saying
FIFA who gave room for appeal in a statement on its official website explained the reason for these sanctions as, “order and security at matches (failure 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.’’
FIFA noted that the violence that occurred after the game breached Article 16 of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.
What you should know
Recall that hundreds of fans encroached the pitch, destroying the technical area, vandalising some of the facilities around the stadium and pelting the VIP section of the stadium after Nigeria played out a 1-1 draw against Ghana, which saw the Super Eagles crash out of their final playoffs for the 2022 World Cup on the away goal rule.
A total of 49 countries were either fined or warned by FIFA for misconduct during the qualifiers.
Also earlier in April, the Senate invited the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare; NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, and other agencies involved in the maintenance of the MKO Abiola Stadium to determine the extent of the damage to facilities at the national arena.
