.Enyimba’s Iwuala gets late call-up
By Akeem Lawal
UD ALMERIA striker Sadiq Umar will not be making his expected Super Eagles debut in the forthcoming 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying battles with Benin Republic and Lesotho following the Spanish Segunda side’s refusal to allow him travel, Sportsbiz247.blogspot.com reports.
Umar, who represented Nigeria at U-23 level and was part of the squad that won bronze-medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, is already looking forward to both games after being included in Coach Gernot Rohr’s 24-man squad for both games.
The Spanish side had informed the Nigeria football Federation arguing that the health and safety conditions are not met.
The UD Almería has argued in its writing that “due to the pandemic crisis that we are experiencing due to the SARS-Cov-2 virus (Covid 19), and thoroughly evaluating all the impacts, we believe that the sanitary conditions are not met, nor security, nor bureaucracy for our player, Sadiq Umar, to appear for the call with the Nigerian senior team. Therefore, based on article 3.1b of Annex 1 of FIFA RSTP, we have notified the player not to appear at the aforementioned call. ”
Meanwhile, Enyimba forward Anayo Iwuala has been called up as replacement for Umar who has netted 14 goals in 25 league appearances for Almeria this season.
Nigeria, top of the Group E log with eight points (one ahead of Benin Republic and five more than third-placed Sierra Leone), tackle the Squirrels away at the Stade Charles de Gaulle in Porto Novo on Saturday, 27th March and will lock horns with the Crocodiles of Lesotho at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos three days later.
FIFA always forced clubs to release the members of their squads who were called by their countries, but, after the pandemic, this rule has been made more flexible due to the risk situation that exists. In fact, there are other teams that have also banned their African footballers from traveling, as has happened in France with FC Nantes stopping Moses Simon.
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