International Football
FIFA GIVES EXPLANATION ON MESSY MESSI ‘VOTE RIGGING’
Following the tainted outcome of the hitherto very glamorous FIFA The Best Award ceremony in Milan on Monday, FIFA has come up with some explanations.
Sports Village Square recalls that three countries came out to dispute their votes ‘allocated’ to Lionel Messi in the lead category.
The winners are determined by votes of national team coaches, captain and a journalist from each country. In Nigeria for instance, the votes will be from Super Eagles head coach, the skipper and traditionally, The Guardian newspaper gets the allocation for the media vote.
The emergence of Messi as the winner of the best player threw up controversies as both Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk were largely considered to have had better performances than the now six-time winner, Messi.
Others, like the Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o, even posited that Mohamed Salah and Senegal’s Sadio Mane had better performances given the impression that the collation of the votes may have been manipulated.
The disputed claims, so far, are from Egypt, Sudan and Nicaragua. Egypt protested to FIFA that the votes from the country, which expectedly put Mohamed Salah as number one were discarded.
Salah placed overall fourth in the poll, having 26 points, which is 20 below that of eventual winner, Messi.
Had the votes from Egypt been counted, Sallah would have had additional 15 points, comprising of five each from the coach, the captain and the media – who all claimed they voted Salah as their number one. But those votes from Shawki Ghareeb and captain Ahmed Elmohamady were not taken into account.
Salah also lost another five point as Sudan’s coach, Zdravko Logarusic, claimed he voted for the Egyptian, but it was inexplicably allocated to Messi.
Had that not been the case, the winner, arithmetically, would have been Mohamed Salah and not Messi.
But FIFA came out with its own explanation, strangely saying that the three votes from Egypt were rejected because they were signed in capital letters.
Furthermore, FIFA said that the Egyptian’s voting forms were not signed by the federations’s general secretary, which is mandatory.
From there, the Egyptian FA was contacted by FIFA requesting confirmations from their captain and coach. FIFA insisted the Egyptian FA did not respond until August 21 and therefore, the votes from the Egyptian FA could not be counted.
But a counter claim is that the Egyptian FA said they officially sent their votes to FIFA on August 15, four days before the deadline.
According to the FIFA voting office, which is monitored by independent observer PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Egyptian FA received two reminders to submit the properly signed voting forms by August 19.
FIFA insisted that the Egyptian FA did not respond until August 21 and therefore, the votes from the Egyptian FA could not be counted.
Regarding the claims of vote switching made by the Sudanese coach, Zdravko Logarusic, who claimed he voted for Salah, Mane and Kylian Mbappe – all being players of African origin, FIFA insisted that the votes were not switched and that the document it has read that the coach voted Messi, Van Dijk and Mane.
What then must have gone wrong? ‘We have checked the voting documents submitted by the Nicaraguan and Sudanese FAs and all these documents are signed and confirmed with the official stamp of the Nicaraguan and Sudanese FAs,’ the spokesman said, according to Daily Mail of UK.
‘Having compared with the vote sheets submitted by the FAs and the ones we have published we confirm that we have the right votes signed by the player/coach.
‘We are asking the Nicaraguan and the Sudanese FAs to inquire on this matter.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles put up a spirited performance but were edged 2-1 by Portugal in an international friendly at the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa in Leiria on Wednesday night.
The match served as Portugal’s final tune-up ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America and offered the Nigerians a chance to test themselves against one of Europe’s leading sides led by veteran captain Cristiano Ronaldo.
Portugal drew first blood in the 23rd minute when Pedro Neto broke the deadlock, firing past Nigerian goalkeeper Maduka Okoye after a lively opening period in which both teams created opportunities.
The Super Eagles responded positively and were rewarded eight minutes before halftime when striker Akor Adams found the equaliser. The goal capped an impressive Nigerian fightback and ensured the teams went into the break level at 1-1.
Ronaldo, making a rare appearance against Nigeria, started the match and remained on the pitch until the 67th minute. The 41-year-old was given a standing ovation by the home crowd when he was replaced by Gonçalo Ramos.
Portugal made several changes after the interval as coach Roberto Martinez rotated his squad in preparation for the World Cup. Despite the substitutions, the hosts continued to press for a winner.
Their persistence paid off in the 75th minute when Francisco Conceição struck the decisive goal, restoring Portugal’s lead and ultimately securing victory for the European side.
Nigeria battled to find another equaliser in the closing stages but Portugal’s defence held firm to preserve the 2-1 result.
The defeat means Portugal have now won both meetings between the two countries. Their first encounter came in Lisbon in November 2022, when the Portuguese recorded a convincing 4-0 victory in a pre-World Cup friendly.
While the result will disappoint Nigerian supporters, the Super Eagles can take encouragement from their resilient display against one of the teams widely tipped to make a strong impact at the World Cup. Akor Adams’ goal and Nigeria’s competitive showing against a star-studded Portuguese side provided positive signs as the team continues its rebuilding process under the national team set-up.
For Portugal, the victory provides a confidence boost as they head to North America, where they hope their talented midfield and experienced squad can propel them to a successful World Cup campaign.
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Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo will be in the starting line-up when the Selecao take on Nigeria in an international friendly match which kicks off in a few minutes tonight.
The 41-year-old forward, who remains a key figure in the Portuguese national team, has been named among the starters as Portugal continue preparations for upcoming competitive fixtures.
Ronaldo’s inclusion is expected to add further excitement to the encounter, with Nigerian fans eager to see one of football’s greatest players in action against the Super Eagles.
The match offers Nigeria another opportunity to test themselves against top European opposition, while Portugal will look to sharpen their squad ahead of future international assignments.
Kick-off is scheduled for later tonight, with both teams expected to field strong line-ups in what promises to be an entertaining contest.
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By Kunle Solaja
Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Portugal will meet for only the second time at the senior level when they clash in an international friendly in Leiria on Wednesday night.
The encounter comes under remarkably similar circumstances to their first meeting in November 2022, when Portugal defeated Nigeria 4-0 in Lisbon just days before the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Once again, Portugal are using Nigeria as their final warm-up match before the World Cup. Four years ago, the Portuguese selected the Super Eagles to prepare for a group-stage clash against Ghana, the team that denied Nigeria a place at Qatar 2022.
History appears to be repeating itself. This time, Portugal are preparing for a World Cup opening fixture against the Democratic Republic of Congo, another team that shattered Nigeria’s World Cup ambitions by eliminating the Super Eagles from the qualification race.
The match at the 29,000-capacity Estádio Dr Magalhães Pessoa offers Nigeria an opportunity to avenge the heavy defeat suffered four years ago and test themselves against one of Europe’s strongest sides.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez has assembled a star-studded squad featuring five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias, Rafael Leão and João Félix.
The Portuguese head into the encounter unbeaten in their last four matches, having recorded victories over the United States and Chile while drawing with Mexico.
Nigeria, under coach Eric Chelle, have also enjoyed an impressive run. Since taking charge 15 months ago, the Franco-Malian tactician has overseen 24 matches and suffered only one defeat in regulation time.
With both teams carrying impressive recent records, Wednesday’s friendly promises to be far more competitive than the scoreline from their last meeting suggests.
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