International Football
ZAMBIA DENIES PLANNING APPEAL OVER NIGERIA’S VICTORY
BY CHINWE EDOGA.
Following pressures from citizens over a disallowed first half goal that Zambia scored in Saturday’s World Cup qualifying match with Nigeria in Uyo, the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president Andrew Kamanga has asserted that his association does not have intention of filing a complaint to FIFA.
Most Zambians were urging the association to file complaint against the Botswana referee, Joshua Bondo who ruled Zambia’s Augustine Mulenga offside when he shot into the net.
They were acting on the fact that FIFA had earlier annulled a result of South Africa-Senegal match on claims of match manipulation by Ghanaian referee.
But Sports Village Square gathered from a Zambian publication, Zambiafootball that the FAZ president, Kamanga said that FAZ found itself in a difficult position as FIFA deemed a referee’s decision final unless there is evidence of external influence on the whistle man.
The FAZ president said that although Zambia was denied a ‘clear goal’ by the referee there had been no indication of external influence for the decision.
“According to article 15 of the FIFA regulation, which clearly states 15 (6) that the referees decision is final.
“That is where football comes from. Where there is reason to believe that the referee has probably made a mistake, I think there are enough safeguards within the system that address those kinds of concerns. So that is where we are starting from,” he said.
“I think all games have got referee assessors, I think they will equally file in their reports, the match commissioner will file in the report. But the rules are very clear, you cannot overturn a referee’s decision, the only decision that is overturned and I think this should be very clear and this is the basis on which we find ourselves constrained.”
He added: “Those of us who were in the stadium saw it within a split second that it was not an offside but the referee made a decision and like I said the referee’s decision is final. But the only consolation is that FIFA will overturn the result of a game if they have reason to believe that there was external influence.”
Kamanga said that Zambia had been down the appeal road as was the case in 2016 against Guinea Bissau who were suspected of having used a foreign player.
“We have spoken to the match commissioner, we did speak to the referee assessor I equally made frantic efforts to speak to officials in FIFA…I had the opportunity to consult widely but the conclusion was that we were denied a clear goal, but the rules being what they are, you cannot overturn the decision of the referee. The only basis is when there is suspicion that there was evidence of external interference,” he said.
“The referee may be carpeted for making a wrong decision but the decision still stands, unfortunately that is the way football is and that is where we find ourselves.”
Kamanga said that introduction of Video Assistance Referees as experimented during the FIFA u-20 World Cup was meant to cure erroneous decisions by referees.
“This is why FIFA has tried now to come up with Video Assistance Referees where they are trying to make sure that the decision can be overturned whilst the game is going on.
“I think we did see that at the World Cup at U-20,” he remarked. He said that VAR offers immediate remedy for football injustices on the pitch.
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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