FIFA has punished and fined Nigeria for fielding an ineligible player in their final Group B 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Algeria.

Nigeria had already qualified for the world cup finals, drew 1-1 but FIFA have now overturned the result and awarded the game to Algeria by 3-0.

The sanction comes after Shehu Abdullahi played the entire match against the Algerian team when he should have been suspended for accumulation of yellow cards in previous qualifiers.

The Super Eagles defender was booked during the 1-0 victory over Zambia in October, having been cautioned in the second round, first leg clash against Swaziland in November 2015.


“This sanction bears no impact on the final result of the preliminary competition for the FIFA World Cup since Nigeria had already qualified (and Algeria eliminated) before the match took place,” FIFA said in a statement.

Despite the deduction, Nigeria still won their group with 12 points instead of 14; while Algeria finished bottom with four rather than two points.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has also been hit with a $6,000 fine for the oversight.


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