Nigeria: Fifa Issues Keshi Ultimatum On Saintfeit Comments

FIFA has given Super Eagles coach Stephen
Keshi until September 19 to respond to the
comments he made on former Malawi coach
Tom Saintfeit, THISDAY Sports gathered
authoritatively last night. The deadline was
issued in a letter received by the Nigeria
Football Federation (NFF) from FIFA before the
decisive World Cup 2014 qualifier between
Nigeria and Malawi in Calabar on September 7.
In the letter, FIFA gave Keshi a two-week
ultimatum to respond to the Belgian coach's
allegations. The deadline for Keshi to reply is
next week Thursday.
We learnt last night that NFF leadership plans
to summon Keshi to a meeting on how a soft
landing defence can be presented to FIFA.
Saintfeit had alleged that Keshi racially abused
him by the reference to him as "a white dude
who should go back to Belgium", in a charged
response to Saintfeit's request for the World
Cup qualifier to be moved from Calabar on
safety concern.
The Belgian, who failed to secure an
appointment with NFF as a Technical Director
last year, after he had attended an interview in
Abuja, caused uneasiness in Nigeria, when he
asked FIFA to move the crucial fixture to Abuja
or a neutral country, because the UK's Foreign
& Commonwealth Office had pronounced
Calabar as a no-travel area.
His comments prompted FIFA to demand for a
full security cover from Nigeria which was
provided by the Inspector General of Police
Mohammed Abubakar, before Calabar was
declared fit to host the match. The Eagles
coach innocuously responded to Saintfeit's
comment to stoke the tension leading to the
match by granting a phone interview aired on
UK-based African TV show.
Keshi was angered and in the abridged
interview he said:"I think the coach of Malawi
is crazy. If he wants to talk to FIFA, he should
go back to Belgium. He is not an African
person, he is a white dude; he should go back
to Belgium."
The comments were regarded as an
extraordinary slur by Saintfeit who forced a
complaint to be sent on his behalf to FIFA by
his former employers, the Football Association
of Malawi (FAM).
FAM wanted an action to be taken against Keshi
for the comments, a demand which FIFA failed
to deal with it before the important fixture
which Nigeria won 2-0 to top Group B for a
place to the last stage of Africa's qualifying
round in October - November.
FIFA has a zero-tolerance stance on racism as
a way to control acts of discrimination in the
football.