Keshi downplays Saintfiet row
With Flames coach Tom Saintfiet threatening to report him to Fifa over racist remarks, Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has tried to water down his utterances.
“I am not interested in all those sorts of things; my first aim is always to defend my country on and off the pitch. It was not a personal attack on the person of Sainfeit, it is unfortunate that it has come across like that, but this is my default mode of defending Nigeria,” Keshi was quoted as saying on www.supersport.com yesterday.
The Nigerian reportedly uttered the racist remarks on UK-based TV show, Vox Africa’s Sports360 against the Belgian who, alongside FAM, had called Calabar as unsafe for next month’s World Cup qualifier.
Saintfiet, an ex-Nigeria technical director, has since reiterated in an interview with Radio 2 FM his wish to, through his lawyers in Belgium, report Keshi to Fifa.
Malawi travels to Calabar on September 7 2013 in a decisive World Cup qualifier. FAM penned Fifa over the security concerns of Calabar. But the Nigerians have since assured Fifa of security during the Group F match. n
