FAM has lodged a complaint to Fifa, citing security fears at U J Esuene Stadium, Calabar where Nigeria host the Flames for the September 7 World Cup African qualifier.
Not only that, Football Association of Malawi (FAM) chief executive officer Suzgo Nyirenda on Sunday also confirmed writing Fifa, expressing reservations about the choice of referee Hamada el Moussa Nampiandraza for the Group F winner-takes-all match.
“There is security risk in Calabar where the match will be played as reported by the Commonwealth Commission. The venue of the match is risky to our delegation and we would like Fifa to shift the match to Abuja or to a neutral country where our delegation will be safe,” Nyirenda wrote to Fifa general secretary on August 7 2013.
“Calabar has been flagged as a high-risk security area and this alert cannot be taken lightly. Our Minister of Sports will be part of the travelling delegation and we don’t want to take security risks by travelling to Calabar.”
However, Nigeria’s Daily Sun newspaper reported a fortnight ago that Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) might reconsider hosting the match in Calabar. But NFF general secretary Musa Amadu refused to commit himself.
“All we want Nigerians to know is that it will be played here in Nigeria. I want to also assure that the venue will be conducive in terms of security, home support and every logistics that would ensure that the Super Eagles get at least a draw needed to go through to the next round. There is nothing to fear whatsoever,” Amadu was quoted as saying on July 31 2013.
FAM also has issues with referee Nampiandraza, citing that “his performance at the 2013 Afcon was not good and we also question the decision of early disclosure of the match officials. FAM would like to register this protest with your office so that Fifa can intervene urgently.”
A report on www.worldreferees.com on 2013 Nations Cup statistics, says Nampiandraza is the youngest (36) referee who has ever refereed a match at the Africa Cup of Nations.
“Nampiandraza had some problems with throw-in decisions [during Niger v Morocco match], there were some mistakes, and furthermore, he missed a handball which would have led to a promising goal attempt for Morocco.”
In an earlier interview, Flames interim coach Tom Saintfiet, ex-Nigeria technical director, shared FAM’s opinion. Flames trail the Super Eagles by two points and the winner will qualify for the final qualifying phase.
