Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr is not a happy man following last minute cancellation of Super Eagles friendly against Burkina Faso at the Hive stadium in London.
NewswatchNigeria gathered that Rohr had insisted on playing other African country for the second match instead of Burkina Faso but an equally disappointed CAF Executive Member and NFF President Amaju Pinnick stick their gun because of the short time interval available to shop for a replacement.
Apart from the FIFA rule that goes against Burkina Faso because they played Morrocco on Friday and playing Nigeria which is from the same region negate a FIFA rule which Coach Rohr sited to the NFF, the coach wanted a stronger opposition from another country.
Amaju Pinnick said the Glass House went ahead with the Senegal and Burkina Faso arrangement, but regretted the ugly turn of event, even as he counted the blessings of the friendly already played.
he said, “Unfortunately, some of the Burkinabe players could not secure entry visas into the UK. It is nobody’s fault. Our joy is that we were able to play Senegal and got a fair result with a depleted squad, and also the objectives of team bonding, team building, team discipline and further imparting the Technical Adviser’s philosophy to the group have been well served, “he said
The visa palaver is however not the only obstacle against the match as the schedule appears to have also come short of FIFA rule which stipulates that teams cannot play in two different continents within short intervals as the teams are required to have at least a two day rest after travelling to another continent.
The stallions lost 2-0 to Atlas Lions of Morocco at the Stade de Marrakech on Friday. If the FIFA rule is to be followed
it means the team will have Saturday and Sunday to rest before heading to London and may not be able to arrive early enough to face waiting Eagles.
Super Eagles earned a late hour draw against Senegal on Thursday with Coach Gernot Rohr expressing satisfaction with his team’s performance. The Monday match would have provided another opportunity to have a second look at the team and newly introduced players as the technical crew seek a formidable team ahead World cup and Nations Cup qualifiers against Cameroon, Algeria and South Africa respectively.
