FIFA
has stripped Nigeria of the one point they earned from their final 2018 World
Cup qualifier against Algeria in Constantine on November 10, after the
world football body discovered that the Super Eagles fielded an ineligible
player, Shehu Abdullahi.
FIFA
also fined the Nigeria Football Federation 6,000 Swiss Francs (about
N2,162, 923) for the development.
The
Eagles had secured Russia 2018 qualification with 13 points in their
first five matches, with the bottom-place Algerians eliminated, thus making the
game in Constantine, which ended 1-1, a dead rubber.
But
FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee stated that Anorthosis Famagusta right-back
Abdullahi failed to serve a one-match suspension after being cautioned in
two separate games during the qualifiers, and awarded 3-0 in favour
of the Desert Foxes.
The
Eagles now have 13 points while Algeria, who previously had two points, now
have four points in Group B of the African qualifiers but still remain in last
place behind Zambia and Cameroon, who have eight and seven points respectively.
“The
match is declared to be forfeited and awarded 3-0 in favour of Algeria, with
the NFF also receiving a fine of CHF6,000. This sanction bears no impact on the
final result of the preliminary competition for the FIFA World Cup since
Nigeria had already qualified (and Algeria eliminated) before the match took
place,” FIFA said in a statement.
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