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Governing Bodies

NO GOING BACK! RIVERS UNITED LOSE OUT AS NIGERIAN LEAGUE TABLE IS SANCTIONED

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Rivers United hopes of seeing the final table of the NPFL 2019/2020 upturned have been dashed as the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Football Committee has sanctioned the final table as presented by the League Management Company (LMC).

According to a media release by the football governing body, the  upholding of the league table was done at its virtual meeting, held at the instance of the President of NFF, Amaju Melvin Pinnick.

The meeting deliberated on all the issues arising from the forced ending to the season by the COVID-19, the agreement reached by all stakeholders to use the Points-Per-Game (PPG) to determine the final table and the subsequent petition by Rivers United FC.

The committee unanimously recommended that the NFF Executive Committee endorse the LMC decision and the final table for the 2019/2020 season in line with the NFF Statutes.

It also charged the LMC to work out its calendar to ensure that very minimal number of matches is postponed for clubs taking part in continental competitions.

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As part of its consultations on the matter, the NFF reached out to both continental-governing body, CAF and world-governing body, FIFA, whose responses affirmed the position of the NFF Football Committee.

According to the press release, the meeting of the NFF Football Committee reviewed the following:

* The process followed by the LMC from May 2020 when the NFF approved the decision to end the NPFL 2019/2020 season at Match day 25 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, to July 2020 when it approved the NPFL table based on the PPG system with the top three teams to represent Nigeria in the 2020/2021 CAF Inter-Clubs Competitions.

* The relevant provisions of the NPFL Rule Book that the LMC relied upon to end the season and adopt the PPG.

* The Petition from Rivers United proposing for the LMC to use the Goal difference to break the tie.

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* The LMC’s response to Rivers United petition seeking to clarify the issues and stating the basis of its decision.

From the above, the meeting established that:

* The LMC followed all the due process of consultation with the NPFL participating clubs and the NFF in coming to the decision to end the NPFL 2019/2020 Season at Match day 25.

* The PPG table was presented by LMC for discussions by the clubs including Rivers United since May 2020 and there were no objections on the standings and/or the application of the head-to-head to break the tie.

* Indeed, it was the same table that was presented to the Government in June 2020 as part of discussions to end the league or go for a Super 6, given the Nation-wide Lockdown order announced as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

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* Rivers United belatedly made a complaint on the PPG table standings only after the final decision to end the league was taken and weeks after the league standings were established.

* The Clubs were duly carried along and voted twice in the final decision to end the league and use the PPG system, first by the 20 NPFL clubs at an internal meeting and second by the same clubs at the joint meeting between NFF, LMC and the 20 NPFL Clubs. The majority of the clubs (18-2) voted to end the league and use the PPG system.

* The Committee noted that the novel Covid-19 pandemic presented an ‘exceptional’ situation and disruptions globally that presented a ‘force majeure’ which warranted the decision to end the league.

* The LMC duly adhered to and relied on the relevant provisions of the NPFL Rule Book in coming to a decision. Specifically, the ‘Force Majeure’ provisions and “Matters Not Provided for” under NPFL Rule Book Articles 15.24 and 15.2

* NPFL Rule Book Article 15.24 unconditionally placed the authority and rights on the LMC to take the necessary decisions under the prevailing circumstances (Force Majeure occasioned by the Covid-19 Pandemic), having regard to interest of fairness, good sportsmanship and overall interest of the game

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* The Rivers Utd Petition which relied on Clause 3 of the NPFL Rule Book (The Competition) does not apply under the circumstances (Force Majeure) as the clause is only relevant if the NPFL full season had been completed and/or the clubs have all played equal number of games (in which case the application of the PPG would be irrelevant).

* The Application of the head-to-head on the NPFL 2019/2020 PPG Table to separate a tie was not limited to only Rivers Utd vs Enyimba but was also applied to decide hierachy between MFM and Wikki Tourists as well as between Jigawa and Nasarawa Utd.

Subsequently, the meeting resolved that:

* That the LMC followed due process by consulting the participating clubs in coming to a decision on the PPG and its application.

* That the majority of the NPFL Clubs duly voted (18-2) to end the league and adopt the PPG system to homologate the final league table.

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* That the LMC acted within its powers and authority, and adhered to the letter of its rulebook (NPFL Rule Book) in coming to a decision on the final PPG-adjusted NPFL table which it adopted for the 2019/2020 season.

* That the NFF does not have the power to overturn the decision of the LMC on the matter unless it is found to have flouted its own rules and regulations as contained in the NPFL Rule Book.

* That the Committee, therefore unanimously recommends that the NFF Executive Committee endorse the LMC decision and the Final NPFL 2019/2020 Season PPG table in line with the provisions of the NFF Statutes. 

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Governing Bodies

Ex-FIFA chief Blatter and Platini cleared in corruption case

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Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter arrives at the tribunal for the verdict on corruption charges against him in Muttenz, March 25, 2025. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and France soccer great Michel Platini were both cleared of corruption charges by a Swiss court on Tuesday, two and a half years after they were first acquitted of the offences.

The pair, once among the most powerful figures in global soccer, were cleared of fraud at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in the town of Muttenz, near Basel.

The hearing came about after Swiss federal prosecutors appealed against their 2022 acquittal at a lower court.

Both men had denied the charge which related to a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.26 million) payment Blatter authorised for Platini in 2011.

The court said there were doubts about the prosecution’s allegation the payment for Platini, a former captain and manager of the French national team, was fraudulent.

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The 2022 indictment had accused Blatter and Platini of deceiving FIFA staff in 2010 and 2011 about an obligation for world soccer’s ruling body to pay Platini.

“They falsely claimed that FIFA owed Platini, or that Platini was entitled to, the sum of 2 million Swiss francs for advisory work. This deception was achieved through repeated untruthful claims made by both accused parties,” the indictment said.

But the court cleared the pair, saying their account of an oral agreement for the payment could not be ruled out.

Platini had argued that the payment had been partly deferred until 2011 because FIFA lacked the funds to pay him in full immediately.

The court said the pair had both been consistent in their accounts of the payment, which covered consultancy work carried out by Platini for Blatter between 1998 and 2002.

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Platini’s experience as a top footballer and coach, explained the size of the payment, said the court, which followed the legal principle that in cases of doubt, favour the accused.

“It can not be assumed that the defendants acted with the intention of enriching themselves in the sense of the charged offences,” the court said.

The scandal, which emerged in 2015 when Platini was president of European soccer’s ruling body UEFA, ended his hopes of succeeding Blatter, who was forced out of FIFA over the affair.

Blatter and Platini were suspended from football in 2015 by FIFA for ethics breaches, originally for eight years, although their exclusions were later reduced.

Platini said he was relieved the case was over, and he had received messages of support from 10,000 people.

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“The persecution of FIFA and some Swiss federal prosecutors for 10 years is now over,” Platini told reporters. “It is now totally over. And for me, today, my honour has returned and I am very happy.”

The 69-year-old said he thought the case had been intended to prevent him becoming FIFA president, but he was now too old to return to football.

The money, which had been confiscated and held by the Swiss authorities, can now be returned to him.

A frail-looking Blatter hugged his daughter Corinne after the judgement and said he was relieved with the decision.

“It is a great relief for me because it’s been going on for ten years. It’s like a sword of Damocles hanging over my head,” he told reporters.

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“And now it’s over and I can breathe,” the 89-year-old said.

Prosecutors had sought a sentence of 20 months in jail, suspended for two years for both Blatter and Platini.

The Swiss attorney general’s office said it would review the written judgement, before deciding whether to appeal again to the Swiss Federal Court, the country’s highest legal authority.

-Reuters

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Governing Bodies

Ex-FIFA boss Blatter and France great Platini to learn fate in corruption case

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Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and France soccer great Michel Platini will appear before a Swiss court on Tuesday to hear whether the case that finished their careers in football will end with their acquittals or convictions for corruption.

The pair, once among the most powerful figures in global soccer, will appear at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court 2-1/2 years after they were acquitted of fraud.

Swiss federal prosecutors rejected the decision at a lower court in 2022, leading to the new hearing in the town of Muttenz, near Basel. Both men deny the charge.

The case relates to a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.27 million)payment Blatter authorised for Platini, a former captain and manager of the French national team, which was made in 2011.

Platini and Blatter said the payment was a consultancy fee paid to Platini for work between 1998 and 2002, which the Frenchman said had been partly deferred because FIFA lacked the funds to pay him in full immediately.

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The affair, which emerged in 2015 when Platini was president of European soccer body UEFA, torpedoed his hopes of eventually succeeding Blatter at the top of FIFA.

Blatter and Platini were suspended from football in 2015 by FIFA for ethics breaches, originally for eight years. Although their exclusions were later reduced, the ban ended their careers as senior football administrators.

The 2022 indictment accused Blatter and Platini of deceiving FIFA staff in 2010 and 2011 about an obligation for world soccer’s ruling body to pay Platini.

“They falsely claimed that FIFA owed Platini, or that Platini was entitled to, the sum of 2 million Swiss francs for advisory work. This deception was achieved through repeated untruthful claims made by both accused parties,” the indictment said.

The pair were cleared in the 2022 case after a judge accepted that their account of a “gentlemen’s agreement” for the payment was credible, while there were serious doubts about the prosecution’s allegation the payment was fraudulent.

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Blatter, who was FIFA president for 17 years until 2015, has insisted he had done nothing wrong. Now a frail 89-year-old, he told Reuters he was the victim of a witch-hunt.

Platini, a three-times European Footballer of the Year, insisted the money was related to backpay.

“There’s no corruption, there’s no swindling, there’s nothing at all,” he told reporters at the start of the appeal.

His lawyer Dominic Nellen said the case was designed to stop Platini becoming FIFA president.

“Platini was the most likely successor to Blatter in 2015, but someone wanted him out of the way,” Nellen said. “At every turn there seems to be an attempt to stop Platini becoming president of FIFA.”

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Blatter was eventually replaced by Gianni Infantino, who had worked for Platini at UEFA. Infantino owed his candidacy to the fact that Europe’s preferred candidate, Platini, was banned from football.

Infantino has denied helping to bring about Platini’s downfall, and said he only stepped up when UEFA asked him after the allegations against Platini emerged.

Prosecutors want a sentence of 20 months in jail, suspended for two years for both Blatter and Platini, and to confiscate the money.

Both sides can appeal against the judgement to the Swiss Federal Court, the country’s highest legal authority.

-Reuters

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Governing Bodies

CAF President congratulates history-making IOC President Ms Kirsty Coventry

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President of CAF, Dr Patrice Motsepe was one of the early dignitaries to congratulate the newly elected President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Ms. Kirsty Coventry.

Coventry is the current Minister of Youth, Art, Sport and Recreation in Zimbabwe. She made history by becoming the first African and the first woman to be elected President of the IOC.

CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe said: “On behalf of the CAF Member Associations who represent 54 African countries, we would like to express our heartfelt congratulations to Ms. Kirsty Coventry on her election as President of the IOC.  

“Her election as President of the IOC fills us with enormous pride and is also a recognition of her outstanding achievements and embodiment of the philosophy of Olympism. We wish her everything of the very best.”

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