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Former Nigeria Football Federation official Ahmed Sani Toro has strongly criticised the federation’s decision to challenge FIFA’s ruling over the controversial World Cup play-off defeat to Democratic Republic of the Congo, Footynaija reports.
Toro has described NFF’s latest move as pointless and misleading.
Nigeria’s football authorities had lodged a protest after the Super Eagles lost 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in Morocco, arguing that some Congolese players were ineligible due to irregularities surrounding their citizenship documentation. However, FIFA dismissed the complaint and confirmed DR Congo as Africa’s representative for the intercontinental play-off.
Despite that decision, the Nigeria Football Federation has chosen to appeal, with general secretary Mohammed Sanusi insisting: “We have received the decision of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee on our petition, but we are not satisfied. I want to assure Nigerians that the NFF has immediately commenced the process of appealing the decision.”
Toro, who previously served as the federation’s top administrator, believes the effort is fundamentally flawed.
“The NFF should stop playing on our intelligence,” he told BSN Sports.
“In this case, it is the government of a country that determines who is a citizen, not FIFA or any other body.”
He went further, warning that Nigeria has no realistic chance of overturning the verdict. “It is a waste of time and energy. You cannot expect FIFA to admit it made a mistake in clearing those players in the first place. There is no way Nigeria can get a favourable verdict. From the outset, it has been a lost battle.”
Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and looks set to miss the next edition to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
