The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has banned Super Eagles coach Salisu Yusuf from all football activities for one year, and fined him $5,000 after a video of him receiving a bribe surfaced online.
According to The Nation, the NFF Committee on Ethics and Fair Play announced its decision in a statement by NFF’s Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire.
Yusuf was seen collecting $1,000 from an undercover journalist posing as a player’s agent. Yusuf had said he did nothing wrong.
According to Olajire, the committee’s submissions are as follows:
Established from the admission of Coach Yusuf and also found as a fact from the documentary and video evidence before it, that he accepted the cash gift of 1,000 US dollars offered by Tigers Player’s Agency, an undercover reporter, purportedly interested in acting on behalf of Players Osas Okoro and Rabiu Ali, for their inclusion in the list of players for 2018 CHAN Competition in Morocco.
The Committee found as a fact that it was not an error of judgment on the part of Coach Yusuf but a conscious and deliberate decision to have accepted the cash gift of 1,000 US dollars from the decoy player agent/undercover reporter, purportedly interested in acting on behalf of Players Osas Okoro and Rabiu Ali, even though the evidence before the Committee did not establish that his conduct influenced the choice of the two players.
That the two Players could have made the team to 2018 CHAN Competition in Morocco on the basis of their talent and performance.
That Coach Yusuf did not accept the offer of 15 per cent of the anticipated transfer fees of the said players, as there was no follow–up action on the promise.
That the act of the Coach, which was widely published on the British Broadcasting Corporation, has a damaging effect on the reputation and integrity of Nigerian Football, as he ought to have conducted himself more professionally in line with the Code of Conduct signed alongside his Contract with the Nigeria Football Federation, as his conduct in public and in secret should be exemplary, since coaches are role models.
That the FIFA Code of Ethics, NFF Code of Ethics and FIFA Disciplinary Code, did not contemplate negligence or error of judgment as a defence to violation of any of the provisions as contained therein, as punitive measures must be adopted to serve as deterrent to other intending offenders, even though, that he is a first time offender.
Olajire added that the committee concluded that Yusuf can appeal the decision to the NFFAppeals Committee.