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What appeared to be authentic news about a ban slammed on Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja might be an case of April Fool’s joke, if top shots of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are to be believed, megasportsarena.com reports.
The report that emerged in the early hours of Friday indicated that Confederation of African Football (CAF) had taken a decisive swipe at Nigeria over the incursion of fans into the pitch immediately after the Super Eagles’ failed to beat Ghana in their Qatar 2022 World Cup play-off.
The 1-1 result at the arena in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) meant Nigeria could not qualify for a seventh appearance at the World Cup and only for the second time after missing Germany 2006, thereby resulting in violent and vandal reactions from Eagles’ fans.
It was also alleged in the said report that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) equipment at the stadium had been stolen during the resultant melee, which necessitated police action and firing of teargas to clear the unruly crowd.
However, in a swift reaction to reports about a ban slammed on the stadium, NFF secretary-general, Dr Mohammed Sanusi described the development as ‘a stream of incorrect reports being peddled in sections of the media.’
Sanusi said: “We are alarmed at the influx of incorrect reports, otherwise known as fake news, mostly in the social media.
“There is no truth to the reports that the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja has been banned for any length of time by FIFA.
“It is a concoction by some persons with fertile imagination. The NFF has not received any such communication from either FIFA or CAF.
“There has also been an outlandish report that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) equipment that was installed for the match had been stolen.
“We initially thought this was an April Fool prank but it is alarming that some media outlets are taking it serious. Nothing of such happened.
“The VAR equipment remains intact and has been returned to the FIFA office in Zurich, Switzerland by Sebastian Runge, FIFA’s Head of Technology.
“The NFF understands that Nigerians in their generality were sorely disappointed by the result of the match, which came short of having the Super Eagles at the World Cup.
“It is a painful situation for everyone, including ourselves at the Federation. However, we are appealing that the propensity for half truths and outright falsehood be discouraged.
“We believe that the present squad of Super Eagles is still capable of achieving great things.”
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