Governing Bodies
TODAY IN HISTORY: NIGERIA PROTESTS TO FIFA OVER ARGENTINA’S WIN
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Five days after Argentina defeated the Super Eagles of Nigeria in a USA ’94 World Cup Group D match, the Nigeria Football Association formerly lodged a protest to FIFA, seeking a reversal of Argentina’s 2-1 victory and the award of the match and also with three goals, to the Super Eagles.
The protest was lodged ostensibly to avoid Nigeria crashing out should the last group match against Greece, slated for the same day failed to go in favour of the Super Eagles.
On that same day, Argentina, the group leaders with six points, were to face Bulgaria who, like Nigeria had three points to set up a three-horse qualification race. Only Greece, losers to both Argentina and Bulgaria were arithmetically out, but could still qualify should they beat Nigeria and Bulgaria lose to Argentina.
Such a complex scenario, coupled with Argentina’s withdrawal of Diego Maradona from its squad after failing a dope test in the match with Nigeria and the subsequent 15-month ban imposed by FIFA, clearly informed Nigeria’s protest letter signed by General Secretary, Sani Ahmed Toro.
The letter reads in part: “We have the honour to draw your kind attention to the information which has just reached us to the effect that Argentina has withdrawn Diego Maradona from the rest of the on-going FIFA World Cup championship matches, following the outcome of the dope test conducted on him after the game between Argentina and Nigeria on 25th June, 1994.
“We have also have it as information that he has been suspended by FIFA for Eighteen (18) months.
“However, we wish to draw your attention to the following issues which we consider as being relevant to our objectives in the championship:
“1. Player Diego Maradona wearing jersey NO. 10 for Argentina took part in the game against Nigeria on 25/6/94.
“2. The player was very instrumental to the final result of the match which Argentina won by 2-1.
“3. The contribution of this player (Diego Maradona) to the outcome of the match will affect the final placement of teams in Group D.
“4. The player was directly involved in the two goals scored by Argentina against Nigeria.
“It therefore follows from the above that;
“1. The withdrawal by Argentina of the player Diego Maradona following confirmation of his being tested positive to banned drugs is a direct admission of guilt.
“2. Under the strenuous conditions games have been played in this championship, an undue advantage will be given to Argentina if the result of the game, (Argentina/Nigeria) tremendously influenced by the player, is allowed to stand. This is without prejudice to the FIFA sanction already imposed on the player.
“In the light of the above conclusions and the fact that the aims of doping control based on the three fundamental principles of:
“a. Preserving and defending the ethics of sports
“b. Protecting the physical and mental integrity of the player, and (c) maintenance of equal opportunities for all, refer to Doping Control Regulations 93/94. These all have been defeated by the acts of the player.
“We therefore wish, with due respect, to request that the match between Argentina and Nigeria of 25/6/94 be awarded to Nigeria.
“It will be highly appreciated if our observations and prayers above could be favourably considered in best interest of football and for the protection of teams which have fallen and may fall victim to unfair methods and tactics.”
FIFA however declined Nigeria’s prayers. On 1 July 1994, in a response signed by Sepp Blatter who was the General Secretary at the time, FIFA pointed out that the Organising Committee of the FIFA World Cup dealt with the matter the same day that Nigeria protested.
“Based on the jurisprudence of FIFA applicable for cases of this nature and in application of the FIFA World Cup Regulations USA ’94, the match Argentina vs Nigeria on 25 June 1994 has to remain counted.
“Therefore, the result of the above-mentioned match still stands. This decision id final (cf Art. 8 par. 5 of the World Cup Regulations).”
As at 1 July 1994, when the outcome of the protest was released, it never mattered whether the Nigeria’s protest was upheld as on-field situations had taken care of it. Both Nigeria and Bulgaria scored late goals to record 2-0 victories over Greece and Argentina respectively.
Even though the trio of Nigeria, Bulgaria and Argentina finished with six points each, Nigeria topped the group on account of superior goal difference, upstaging the hitherto group leaders, Argentina.
The South Americans tied on points and goal difference with Bulgaria but dropped to the third pace on account of the result of head-to-head confrontation with the Europeans.
Kirsty Coventry became the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the most powerful person in sport, on Monday in a handover ceremony with her predecessor Thomas Bach.
The Zimbabwean is the first woman and African to head the body, and at 41, the youngest since Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who is credited with founding the modern-day Olympics.
Coventry accepted the Olympic key from Bach, who, like her, is an Olympic champion — he won a team fencing gold in 1976 and she earned two swimming golds in 2004 and 2008.
Stepping down after a turbulent 12-year tenure, Bach expressed his confidence that the Olympic movement was “in the best of hands” and Coventry would bring “conviction, integrity and a dynamic perspective” to the role.
Coventry, who swept to a crushing first-round victory in the election in Greece in March, leans heavily on her family.
Aside from her parents, who were present at the ceremony in Lausanne, there is her husband Tyrone Seward, who was effectively her campaign manager, and two daughters, six-year-old Ella, who Bach addresses as “princess”, and Lily, just seven months old.
“Ella saw this spider web in the garden and I pointed out how it is made, and how strong and resilient it is to bad weather and little critters,” said Coventry, who takes over officially at midnight Swiss time Monday (2200 GMT).
“But if one little bit breaks it becomes weaker. That spider web is our movement, it is complex, beautiful and strong but it only works if we remain together and united.”
‘Pure passion’
Coventry said she could not believe how her life had evolved since she first dreamt of Olympic glory in 1992.
“How lucky are we creating a platform for generations to come to reach their dreams,” she said to a packed audience in a marquee in the Olympic House garden, which comprised IOC members, including those she defeated, and dignitaries.
“It is amazing and incredible, indeed I cannot believe that from my dream in 1992 of going to an Olympic Games and winning a medal I would be standing here with you to make dreams for more young children round the world.”
Coventry, who served in the Zimbabwean government as sports and arts Minister from 2019 to this year, said the Olympic movement was much more than a “multi-sport event platform.”
“We (IOC members) are guardians of this movement, which is also about inspiring and changing lives and bringing hope,” she said.
“These things are not to be taken lightly and I will be working with each and every one of you to continue to change lives and be a beacon of hope in a divided world.
“I am really honoured to walk this journey with you.”
Bach, who during his tenure had to grapple with Russian doping and their invasions of the Crimea and Ukraine as well as the Covid pandemic, said he was standing down filled with “gratitude, joy and confidence” in his successor.
“With her election it sends out a powerful message, that the IOC continues to evolve,” said the 71-year-old German, who was named honorary lifetime president in Greece in March.
“It has its first female and African to hold this position, and the youngest president since Pierre de Coubertin. She represents the truly global and youthful spirit of our community.”
Bach, who choked back tears at one point during his valedictory speech, was praised to the rafters by Coventry, who was widely seen as his preferred candidate of the seven vying for his post.
After a warm embrace, she credited him with teaching her to “listen to people and to respect them,” and praised him for leading the movement with “pure passion and purpose.”
“You have kept us united through the most turbulent times.
“You left us with many legacies and hope, thank you from the bottom of my heart for leading us with passion and never wavering from our values.”
-AFP
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Former Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry took over the leadership of the International Olympic Committee from Thomas Bach in a ceremony on Monday with the 2028 Los Angeles Games already threatening to fill her in-tray to overflowing.
Coventry, who starts her eight-year spell officially on Tuesday as the most powerful sports administrator in the world, became the first woman and first African to be elected head of the Olympic ruling body in March.
Much of the discussion during campaigning focused on the IOC’s need for change in its marketing strategies with several top Olympic sponsors having left in the past 12 months.
However, with Los Angeles hit by protests against immigration raids, and relations tense between state and city officials, and the U.S. government, the 2028 Games have become the major talking point in the movement that would ordinarily be focusing on next year’s Milano-Cortina Winter Games.
Coventry has long-standing ties with the United States, dating back to her time as a leading swimmer at Auburn University in Alabama. That will prove useful ahead of LA 2028, and she has said she will seek to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss the Games.
Coventry will also need to find time to help secure the long-term finances of the movement. The IOC, which generates billions of dollars in revenues each year in sponsorship and broadcasting deals for the Olympics, has secured $7.3 billion for 2025-28 and $6.2 billion for 2029-2032. More contracts are expected for both periods.
COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES
Coventry is also expected to continue the IOC’s plans to expand commercial opportunities for sponsors at the Olympics with the organisation’s finances in a robust state and the privately-funded LA Olympics a good place to start.
Coventry needed only one round of voting to clinch the race to succeed Bach, beating six other candidates, making history for the African continent, with the IOC having been ruled for 131 years by European or North American men.
Her background and being the first female president will be assets in a diverse IOC membership and the international makeup of Olympic stakeholders.
On Monday she was handed the golden key to the IOC by Bach, who was the organisation’s president for 12 years.
“I am really honoured I get to walk this journey with you. I cannot wait for anything that lies ahead,” Coventry said in her address to IOC members and other Olympic stakeholders.
“I know I have the best team to support me and our movement over the next eight years.”
Coventry will hold a two-day workshop this week to get feedback from members on key IOC issues.
“Working together and consistently finding ways to strengthen and keep united our movement that will ensure that we wake up daily… to continue to inspire,” she said.
A seven-time Olympic medallist, Coventry won 200m backstroke gold at the 2004 Athens Games and in Beijing four years later.
“With her election, you have also sent a powerful message to the world: the IOC continues to evolve,” Bach said in his speech. “With Kirsty Coventry, the Olympic movement will be in the best of hands.”
-Reuters
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Penalties scored when a player accidentally touches the ball twice must be retaken, world soccer’s lawmaking body IFAB has said after Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez had his spot kick disallowed in a Champions League last-16 match.
During a tense shootout with Real Madrid in March, Argentine forward Alvarez slipped and the VAR spotted that his left foot touched the ball slightly before he kicked it with his right.
Although Alvarez converted the penalty, the goal was chalked off and Atletico went on to lose the shootout and were eliminated from the Champions League.
European soccer’s governing body UEFA said the correct decision was made under the current laws but IFAB (International Football Association Board) has said that in such cases the penalty must be retaken.
Atletico Madrid v Real Valladolid – Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain – April 14, 2025 Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez scores their first goal from the penalty spot REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo
“(When) the penalty taker accidentally kicks the ball with both feet simultaneously or the ball touches their non-kicking foot or leg immediately after the kick: if the kick is successful, it is retaken,” IFAB said in a circular.
“If the kick is unsuccessful, an indirect free kick is awarded (unless the referee plays advantage when it clearly benefits the defending team). In the case of penalties (penalty shootout), the kick is recorded as missed.”
The decision to disallow Alvarez’s penalty left Atletico boss Diego Simeone livid and the club’s fans outraged.
IFAB added that if the penalty taker deliberately kicks the ball with both feet or deliberately touches it a second time, an indirect free kick is awarded or, in the case of shootouts, it is recorded as missed.
The new procedures are effective for competitions starting on or after July 1, but IFAB said it may be used in competitions that start this month.
-Reuters
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