FIFA slams 2-year ban on Cofine FC coach, NFF says

The coach of Cofine Football Club of Uyo in Akwa Ibom, Remi Amadi, has been slammed with a global ban of two years from all football-related activities.

Ademola Olajire, the Director of Communications at Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), in a statement on Tuesday said the ban was imposed by world football governing body FIFA.

“The world body’s Disciplinary Committee conveyed this decision to the NFF, and it is a consequence of a similar ban imposed on the coach by the Federation’s Disciplinary Committee at its meeting of Aug. 16,” he said.

Olajire added that the NFF Integrity Unit had forwarded the said decision of the Federation’s Disciplinary Committee and all the relevant documentation to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.

“This was done through a letter dated Aug. 25, requesting the Committee to extend the sanction to have a worldwide effect, in accordance with Article 66 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Amadi was in August found guilty of attempting to manipulate the outcome of a match five months earlier.

The NFF had said then that Amadi admitted to having attempted to manipulate the result of the match between Cofine FC and Bussdor FC.

It had based its decision partly on an audio conversation tendered as evidence, while Amadi was said to have admitted he would have benefitted if the attempted manipulation had been successful.

The NFF Disciplinary Committee had also imposed a N500,000 fine on Cofine FC for being responsible for the action and inaction of its employee in the said match manipulation.

The committee went on to cancel the result of the match, against Bussdor FC and played on March 15 at the University of Calabar sports ground.
NAN reports that the worldwide effect on the ban was activated by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee at its meeting of Oct. 5.