AFCON
JOE ARIBO’S BRACE SOUNDS WARNINGS TO SIERRA LEONE
As the Super Eagles rev their engine for this week’s Africa Cup of Nations’ qualifying match against Sierra Leone in Benin on Friday, one of Nigeria’s invited midfielders, Joseph Ayodele-Aribo has given an indication of what the visitors should expect as his brace on Sunday propelled his Scottish side, Glasgow Rangers to a 8-0 mauling of Hamilton last on Sunday at Ibrox stadium in Glasgow.
On a day that Rangers were ruthless and recorded their biggest win under Steven Gerrard against Hamilton to stay nine points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Aribo, who is among the 23-man invited players for Friday’s match against Sierra Leone scored twice but it was James Tavernier that was voted as the ‘Man of the Match,
Scott Arfield struck the opener, Kemar Roofe headed the second and Joe Aribo’s deflected shot made it three.
Aribo’s second of the night also took a nick off a defender as bottom side Accies toiled.
Roofe tapped in after the break before substitute Brandon Barker slotted in and James Tavernier contributed a penalty and another strike.
Gerrard’s side have played two games more than nearest challengers Celtic and are yet to concede a league goal at Ibrox this season.
The margin of victory makes it the biggest win since the top flight was rebranded as the Scottish Premiership in 2013, which was also the last year Rangers won a match 8-0 against Stenhousemuir.
The hosts showed attacking intent from the outset and Connor Goldson, Ryan Kent and Tavernier were all denied by goalkeeper Ryan Fulton early on.
The pressure told on 16 minutes when Jermain Defoe stole possession just inside the Accies half and released Kent with a reverse pass – the winger squaring for Arfield to apply the finish.
Tavernier then crossed for Roofe to head his fourth goal of the season. And it got worse for Hamilton when Aribo worked the space to get a shot away, with the ball spinning off Scott McMann and Hakeem Odoffin into the net.
There was no let-up from the home side and Roofe set up Aribo again, the midfielder’s shot diverted over Fulton by Will Collar.
Arfield fancied another and drew a save from Fulton in added time and the keeper was called into action again early in the second period when Tavernier struck.
McMann almost scored an own goal when preventing Arfield’s cross reaching Defoe, the ball hitting the post and presenting Roofe with an easy chance for his second goal of the afternoon.
Defoe set up Kent’s replacement Barker to slide home and the striker was then fouled by Odoffin to give top scorer Tavernier the chance to score his 11th goal of the season.
And Tavernier soon made it 12 for the campaign, reacting quickest in the box after Fulton had blocked Roofe’s effort.
Rangers had let a two-goal lead slip in Thursday’s 3-3 Europa League draw with Benfica and they showed a hunger to make amends for the late lapses in Lisbon.
The movement of their front players consistently stretched Hamilton and, but for Fulton, the rout could have made it into double figures, while Bongani Zungu made his debut as a second-half substitute.
For Hamilton it was a far cry from March’s 1-0 win at Ibrox as their run of league defeats stretched to four, during which they have conceded 20 goals.
Their lengthy injury list prompted head coach Brian Rice to add Aaron Martin and Nathan Thomas to his squad in recent days and captain Brian Easton returned after a nine-month absence to get 90 minutes under his belt on a difficult afternoon.
Hamilton continue their League Cup group campaign away to Stranraer on Wednesday evening and at home to Albion Rovers next Saturday.
Rangers return from the international break against Premiership visitors Aberdeen on 22 November, the day after Accies visit Dundee United in the league.
Ghana Black Stars lost 2-0 to Sudan Tuesday afternoon in matchday 4 of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series putting their prospects in great doubt.
The former three-time African champions are now third in Group F having accrued just two points from four matches. Sudan, with seven points, are second.
Angola, who still have a match to play later in the day with bottom-placed Niger, are on top with nine points.
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
With CAF referring the case of the botched Libya-Nigeria match to its
Disciplinary Board, a nine-man panel has the task of deciding which party was at fault.
Possible decision could be forfeiture of the match by the offending party or rescheduling of the fixture. The latter seems unlikely considering the already congested international calendar.
Even if that were to be the decision, the match would likely be taken to a neutral ground.
On the other hand, the board may also take it that it was Nigeria that refused to play the match after having hosted the first leg.
In that case, Article 62 of the competition’s regulations will be enforced. It reads: “Any team that withdraws or refuses to play the return match after having played the first leg on its territory must refund the association of the visiting team a minimum sum of fifteen thousand (15,000) U.S. dollars in reparation for the damage suffered by the host country.”
If the NFF is adjudged as the culprit, the body will be fined $15,000. Chapter 19 of the regulations gives a window to appeal the fine. But judging from the CAF statement of the situation, and the condemnation of the treatment meted out to the Super Eagles, the fine is very unlikely as the weight of evidence tilts against the Libyans who in the x-handle admitted keeping the Super Eagles in captivity with an explanation that episode was largely due to an airport protocol mishap.
A decision lies firstly on the nine-man panel. With the possibility of the losing side not satisfied, another nine-man panel, the Appeals Board will take a possible final decision which can only be contested at the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS)
Here are the decision-makers:
Disciplinary Board
- Ousmane Kane, Senegal. – President.
- Jane Njeri Onyango, Kenya – Vice President.
- Norman Arendse, South Africa – member
- Mohamed Mostafa El-Mashta, Egypt. – member
- Djonfoune Golbassia Felix, Chad. – member
- Patrick Shale, Lesotho – member
- Douma Ibrahim Issaka – Niger. -member
- Ruth Kisaakye, Uganda. -member
- Drucil Taylor, Sierra Leone. – member
Appeal Board
Justice Roli Daibo Harriman, Nigeria
Faustino Varela Monteiro, Cape Verde
Moez Ben Tahar Nasri, Tunisia
Moses Ikanqa, Namibia
Hamoud T’feil Bowbe, Mauritania
Mohamed Robleh Djama, Djibouti
Asogbavi Komlan, Togo
Justice Masauko Timothy Msungama, Malawi
Lubamba Ngimbi Hector, DR Congo
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
The Libya-Nigeria Group D tie of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers scheduled for this Tuesday has been put off owing to the refusal of the Libyan authorities to allow the Nigerian team to enter their territory for the match.
As a result, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has referred the case to its Disciplinary Board to make an appropriate decision. The immediate consequence of this is the delay of the Nigerian team picking an early qualification as has been done by Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Algeria who have all qualified after four matches.
A win by Nigeria on Tuesday would have taken their point haul to 10 while a draw would take their total to eight. That way, irrespective of the result of the Rwanda-Benin Republic corresponding match would have qualified the Super Eagles for Morocco 2025 as they would not have ended below second position in Group D.
They now await the decision of the CAF body. A possible outcome could be Libya’s forfeiture of the match. A case in point is that of USM Alger of Algeria versus Morocco’s RS Berkane in last year’s Confederation Cup semi-final duel when the Moroccans were unjustly delayed at the airport by the Algerians.
In the case of the Super Eagles, it was worse as theirs was not just delayed, they were locked up in a desolate airport in what was a psychologically draining and energy sapping tactics.
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