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Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

Super Eagles’ goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho is out of the next Super Eagles’ Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Sierra Leone in June. This is sequel to the yellow card he got in 90+2 minute of the game with Guinea Bissau on Monday.

The Moroccan referee of the match gave Uzoho the yellow card for time wasting. That was the second caution he received in the series. He had earlier been cautioned for the same reason in the match day 1 against Sierra Leone in Abuja last June.

That caution came in the 86th minute as Nigeria precariously held their slim 2-1 lead over Sierra Leone in Abuja.

Incidentally, it is the reverse leg against Sierra Leone that Uzoho will miss. This is in accordance to Article 42.1 of the Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations, “a player who receives two cautions shall be automatically suspended from playing the following match.

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Also on ‘danger’ list are Calvin Bassey, Kenneth Omeruo and Oghenekaro Etebo who are all on one yellow cards each. Calvin Bassey and Oghenekaro Etebo were cautioned in Nigeria’s opening match with Sierra Leone while Omeruo got his yellow card in the 36th minute of the match in Guinea Bissau.

Similar provisions exist in the regulations for the qualifying series of the World Cup. Sports Village Square recalls that failure to abide with the provisions of the Regulations cost Nigeria the 2018 World Cup qualifying match with Algeria when the 1-1 draw was forfeited owing to the fielding of ineligible Shehu Abdulahi who had had two cautions preceding the game.

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.