28 November 2011
THE Namibia Football Association on Friday vowed to challenge Confederation of African Football’s decision to dismiss their appeal a day earlier.
The Caf Disciplinary Committee heard the NFA appeal on 15 November regarding the eligibility of Burkina Faso player Hervé Zengue, after the initial protest was also thrown out by Caf on the eve of the 2012 African Cup of Nations (Afcon) final draw.
According to NFA Secretary General, Barry Rukoro, the FA anticipated the decision pronounced by Caf last Thursday.
The NFA has repeatedly said it will take its case to sport’s highest legal body the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland – if Caf ruled against it again.
“We are not shocked by the decision because we expected something like that,” Rukoro said.
“But the reasons too used are the same as the ones used earlier, so for us we will be consulting and take necessary steps soon which will include taking the appeal to the Court for Sport Arbitration for appropriate action.”
Rukoro also said the NFA remain steadfast in its objective in the aftermath of the Caf’s latest ruling.
“We are just disgusted by the Caf decision because according to them we misinterpreted article 36.12 of the regulations of the Nations Cup as according to them it only talks of a suspended player, but it is clearly stated that non-qualified or suspended. So it is very disgusting to say the least”.
The NFA believed that the Brave Warriors would qualify for the Afcon finals in place of the Burkinabe should the Namibians have been awarded the qualifying points in accordance with Article 36.12.
This is because the six points from two technical 3-0 victories would have seen them finish Group F with an unsurpassed nine points – five more than the Burkinabes’ revised total.
Following last month’s Nations Cup draw, Burkina Faso were drawn in Group B at the finals where they will face Angola, Sudan and Ivory Coast, one of the favourites.
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