Enyimba boss angry over fine

Patrick Ngwaogu, Abuja - 09.07.2008

The Technical Adviser of Enyimba International of Aba, Maurice Cooreman has reacted to the one million naira fine imposed on the team by the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), over the non-chalant attitude towards the third place match of the 2008 FA Cup in Makurdi last weekend.

Enyimba had almost boycotted the match until it was threatened with a huge sanction by the NFA if it failed to honour the match.

According to Cooreman, the team had decided not to honour the match until few hours to the kick off, when it decided to leave its Nnewi camp to Makurdi in the interest of peace.

"We're not happy about the way we were treated in the semi-final match against Ocean Boys. It was a match which we won that was not supposed to drag into penalties.

“The goal that was counted for them was not a goal at all but the referee gave it to them. We felt that our target is the final, but since we could not get there again, we had no other option than to concentrate on Champions League match that is just few days away."

He said that the afterthought of coming for the match was in order not to put the game into disrepute.

He added that his team lost the third place match due to fatigue. "We came straight from the bus to the field. We drove straight from Nnewi to the field. So it was not easy."

It would be recalled that the former African champion conceded an early minute goal to the Nasarawa boys, which eventually was the deciding factor.