The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appealed to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) not to punish Edo Queens of Benin City for an offence committed by the match referee during their WAFU-B Women's Champions League qualifiers match against Ampem Darkoa Ladies of Ghana. The NFF argues that Edo Queens should not be held responsible for the referee's error. CAF had cancelled the match's result and ordered it to be completed properly after a protest by Ampem Darkoa.
The controversy began when CAF overturned Edo Queens' 4-1 victory achieved via penalties in the final of the WAFU-B Women's Champions League qualifiers. Ampem Darkoa had protested the result, citing that the competition regulations require the match to proceed into extra time before penalties. The CAF Committee upheld Ampem Darkoa's protest, determining that proceeding directly to penalties after regulation time was inconsistent with Article 72.4 of the competition regulations.
The NFF has now sent a formal petition to the CAF Appeals Committee to reverse the verdict. The appeal, submitted by NFF's acting general secretary, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme, argues that neither Edo Queens nor Ampem Darkoa was responsible for the failure to play extra time before the penalty shoot-out. The NFF claims that Edo Queens simply followed the directives of the appointed match officials.
According to the NFF's appeal, Edo Queens did not request, cause or contribute to the referee skipping extra time. The appeal highlights the distinction between benefiting from an official's error and causing or procuring the error. The NFF argues that it is difficult to justify a remedy that effectively removes the sporting consequence of the penalty shoot-out from Edo Queens, as the club was not responsible for the regulatory breach.
The NFF's appeal also objects to CAF's boardroom directive to resume the final from a 2-2 scoreline for 30 minutes of extra time. The match referee had overlooked this directive and instead directed both teams to go into penalties to determine the winners of the match, which went in favour of Edo Queens. As a result, Edo Queens won the shootout 4-1 to claim the title and a ticket to the 2026 CAF Women's Champions League.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) had filed a protest citing Article 72.4 of the tournament regulations, which mandates two 15-minute halves of extra time. The CAF Committee's decision to uphold Ampem Darkoa's protest has sparked a heated debate, with the NFF now seeking to overturn the verdict. The outcome of the appeal will have significant implications for the teams involved and the future of women's football in the region.
The NFF's appeal emphasizes that Edo Queens should not be punished for the referee's mistake. The federation argues that the club's compliance with the referee's instruction cannot be retrospectively converted into responsibility for the regulatory breach. The CAF Appeals Committee will now review the NFF's appeal and determine the fate of Edo Queens in the competition.
Key points
- The Nigeria Football Federation appeals CAF's decision to punish Edo Queens for a referee's mistake in a WAFU-B Women's Champions League qualifier match.
- CAF had cancelled the match's result and ordered it to be completed properly after a protest by Ampem Darkoa Ladies of Ghana.
- The NFF argues that Edo Queens should not be held responsible for the referee's error and has petitioned the CAF Appeals Committee to reverse the verdict.
