The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Committee on Ethics and Fair Play has placed a one –year ban from all football –related activities on Super Eagles’ Chief Coach, Salisu Yusuf after he was indicted in a cash gift scandal in July.
A video documentary released by the popular Ghanaian undercover star Anas Aremeyaw in July showed Yusuf collecting a cash gift of one thousand dollars ($1,000) from undercover reporters who disguised as football players’ agents.
Following its consideration of a complaint by the NFF as well as the coach’s defence, the Committee summed that the former Enyimba coach be banned from all football related activities for a year and must also pay a fine in the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000) to the Federation within three months.
The Committee chaired by the popular Mallam Nuhu Ribadu invited Yusuf to a hearing last week, after which they came out with their findings and judgment.
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“The Committee found as a fact that it was not an error of judgment on the part of Coach Salisu Yusuf but a conscious and deliberate decision to have accepted the cash gift of $1,000 from the decoy player agent/undercover reporter, purportedly interested in acting on behalf of Players Osas Okoro and Rabiu Ali, even though the evidence before the Committee did not establish that his conduct influenced the choice of the two players,” read a part of the findings.
However, the committee tacitly absolved Yusuf of some of the accusations that arose from the video which went viral after it was broadcast via the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)’s Africa Eye programme.
“That the two Players could have made the team to 2018 CHAN Competition in Morocco on the basis of their talent and performance.
“That Coach Salisu Yusuf did not accept the offer of 15% of the anticipated transfer fees of the said players, as there was no follow –up action on the promise,” added the statement.
The Committee’s decisions to impose a fine and ban Yusuf who led Nigeria to second place at the 2018 African Nations Championship was taken “In accordance with Art. 22, FIFA Disciplinary Code. The Committee also ruled that an appeal against the decision can be made to the NFF Appeals Committee.
Nigeria’s senior national team are moving on with life without Salisu Yusuf and are in Seychelles for this weekend’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against the Pirates of Seychelles in Victoria.
