By Sulaimon Jamiu
World football ruling body, FIFA, on Monday, imposed a 150,000 Swiss Franc (about 154,128.75 USD) fine on Nigeria following the unruly behaviour of the fans at the end of the second leg Qatar 2022 World Cup play-off between the Super Eagles and Black Stars of Ghana at the Moshood Abiola Stadium on March 29.
It would be recalled that hundreds of fans encroached the pitch, leading to a break of law and order after the ill-fated 1-1 draw encounter, as the Black Stars edged Nigeria out of the Qatar 2022 race on the away goals rule.
In a dispatch by FIFA, the body’s Disciplinary Committee decried the poor organisation of the match for lack of order and security at the match, adding there was ‘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’.
The violence, according to FIFA, breached Article 16 of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee. A total of 49 countries were either fined or warned by FIFA for misconduct during the qualifiers.
Apart from the 150,000 CHF fine (approximately N63.9 million), Nigeria will play its next home match without fans.
