Nigeria
defender Ugo Njoku has been suspended for three matches and fined
641,349.27 Naira by FIFA after being found guilty of elbowing Australia
striker Sam Kerr in their last match.
The
substitute escaped the referee’s sanction for the action in the second
half but has now been punished after a post-match video assessment.
The Australian striker suffered a broken jaw from the incident.
In a
statement issued by FIFA on Monday morning, it said the decision became
necessary after asserting the Nigerian’s poor challenge in the game
which the Super Falcons lost 2-0 on Friday.
“The FIFA
Disciplinary Committee has reached a decision in the case related to Ugo
Njoku of Nigeria following an incident that occurred during the FIFA
Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 match between Australia and Nigeria played
on 12 June 2015,” the statement reads.
“Ugo Njoku
has been suspended for three matches and fined CHF 3,000 as well as
being issued with a warning by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee after
being found to have breached art. 48 par. 1 d) of the FIFA Disciplinary
Code.
“Disciplinary
proceedings had been opened in accordance with art. 77 a) of the FDC
which states that the Disciplinary Committee is responsible for
sanctioning serious infringements which have escaped the match
officials’ attention.
“The first
of the three-match suspension is to be served in the upcoming FIFA
Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 fixture between Nigeria and USA on 16 June
2015, with the remaining two to be served either at any subsequent
matches within the competition or, in the case that Nigeria would be
eliminated, at the next official matches of the Nigerian national team
in analogous application of art. 38 par. 2 lit. a) of the FDC,” it
concluded.
This
development means, Njoku will miss Nigeria’s final group D clash against
the USA as Edwin Okon’s ladies hope for a win to reach the round of 16.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Leave a comment