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Let me just quote myself because I have already posted this on a thread not quite long but I want more people to see it to know if they will have better explanation.


Why such decision from FiFA?

If you read about allegations of match fixing in games, this are the type of moves causes such allegations,  with everything that have transpired during the world cup qualifying stage, Nigeria should be taken as a country of special concern, having a South African referee on a Nigeria match will definitely increase the chances to speculate possible fraund in the officiating team if the match goes against Nigeria.

From what I have read, there are reasons for it, and it's not that hard to find. They say they are doing it for neutrality. It's pretty hard to gauge, but there are some conflicts; with a tad of politicking, it's hard to see the rationale.

Don't they have a selection criterion for referees? Maybe they can put out everything they did during the appointment process to help alleviate the pain of people who are against it.

Well, I want to believe that there should be more reasons to that than this, they may not want to disclose them, but definitely when you see FIFA acting this manner, this shows that they must have seen something it heard about it before taking actions.


Special concern again? IMO Nigeria is on it this remaining days of the year 2025 to end, Trump already said his own concerning the insecurities, now again to the FIFA, they are also a thing of special concern, this goes a long way, because things have gone wrong over time and too way forward regarding the system and how things are being practiced in Nigeria.

I know referee issues has always been a problem in football due their inconsistency and bias mind of some officials. My suggestion for the players is for them to learn think skin in the game. Be endurance, have a strong state of mind to withstand whatever actions any referee may pull through in the game.

I think that is why I love Osimehn so much. He focus is one the game, when you are leading with 3 goals ahead, no matter what the officials want to do, play safe and defend the game.

But with what happened between Nigeria and South Africa, FIFA is biased in my opinion. There are many other countries that they can select the refee and the VAR from which will be better.

Although, I am not asking for the reasons that are online. You should know already that this world is very complicated and there are a lot of things that can be hidden underneath. This is not neutrality for me but maybe FIFA does not want Nigeria to qualify. There are many countries in the world FIFA can choose referee from.


I just did 3 merits giveaway.

I think the fear for the Nigerian fans and football enthusiast is because of the statement that the south Africa sports minister made that he doesn't wish that the Nigerian team should qualify for the FIFA World Cup. Unfortunately, FIFA has assigned referees from South Africa to officiate same match few days time, I think on the 13th of this month. This is really a bias statement to make openly and to think that South Africa will be taking decision on the 90 minutes game deserve to be worried about.

Although I read that decision is being made to reassign new referees that are not from South Africa to officiate the match but if that is just rumour, the football association of Nigeria has to do something about it. They have the right to agitate for a change of referee to avoid bias representation and FIFA will listen to them and change those referees for fairness sake and fair play.

I'm believing that there are unrevealed politicking that only insides know about on this.

We already know what could likely happen in this match and whether they like or not, if the super eagle team is up to do, they'll beat the Gabon team. I know that their are situations where this match can be compromised but do not be panicked because this is a game might favour the Nigerian team if they play exceptional to the extent where blowing against Nigeria will not shake the table.

A mistake by FIFA by not reconsidering an offensive statement made by SAFA sport minister. It's so easy just simply changing the referee, and everything is solved. FIFA is just complicating itself rather than come with a win win solution for all of countries.
Seeing how sport minister of south africa blatantly said they are not willing to see Nigeria to qualify is just so dumb. I truly support the change of the referee to ensure fairness in the game.

Or is this a sign that FIFA is thanking Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for embezzling the million of dollars given NFF to build stadium in Nigeria?

One of the two stadium FiFA gave NFF $1.2 million (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5563551.msg65971254#msg65971254)

I still think there is something not right about FIFA taking referee and VAR from the countries that will want the downfall of Nigerian team.

FIFA decisions often look strange from the outside, but referee selection usually follows regional neutrality or availability rules, not politics. Still, optics matter, using a referee from a country tied to recent disputes can raise suspicion. Transparency in appointments would help reduce bias talk.

Do you think FIFA should randomize referee assignments to avoid such debates?

If only the Super Eagles will be determined to win Gabon hands down in that match to thwart whatever, plans or intentions FIFA has and put shame on their faces.

There is how the Super Eagles performance will be that it will be impossible for the referee to blow biasly against them because it will be obvious and show some signs of unprofessionalism. Nobody knows the main purpose of this decision by FIFA.

I mean, it's concerning.. who wouldn't raise a suspicious eye after such abnormal policies were being made? I just know it's definitely going to affect the outcome of the games, but If some powerful people in bigger chambers know about this, then it's just their route to make plenty of money from it.
Or maybe they have been fishy rumors surrounding this fact? Like, the NFF trying to manipulate the system through the indigenous referees and VARs?

If you remember clearly, South African sports Minister blamed Nigeria as the cause of their points and goals deductions, signaling a bad blood between the two countries already and also citing that Benin Republic was eliminated from the qualifiers by Nigeria in what would've been an automatic qualification for them if they won, now these are two countries that have something against Nigeria being placed in the place of power in that match.

Now to answer your question directly, this might be a professionally test for these referees by FIFA but the risk isn't worth taking. If they become biased in their officiating procedures, they may be punished by FIFA but the damage would've been done already and they achieved their aim, I'm against that officiating buildup.

Even if there is nothing in plan, it doesn't seem right following a few clashes from the South African side, we may have some biased judgments during the match. Our only way of surviving is for our players to perform well, score goals and defend their own post, avoid collecting a first card too early or any behavior to warrant a straight red card.

The Super Eagles can play right and win the game, its already been known that some other African nations, specifically South Africa don't want to see Nigeria qualify in the World Cup, as long we play a good game, we will win against Gabon.

Your observation isn’t entirely baseless, as some of FIFA’s decisions do raise serious questions. However, it’s important to analyze the matter deeply rather than viewing it only with suspicion. FIFA usually appoints referees and VAR officials to maintain neutrality, though at times their decisions may seem biased. The allegations of fund embezzlement by the Nigerian Football Federation are indeed grave, but no direct connection has yet been proven between that and FIFA’s referee selections. Therefore, instead of jumping to conclusions, we should call for transparency and accountability from FIFA—only then can true justice in football be achieved.

Could it actually possible to see match fixing in African national teams like those allegations point out to?
Because one thing it is to assume there is some match fixing and fraud going on in smaller leagues or local / rural leagues where it is less likely for authorities to even care or launch and investigation on players, but a national team it is different, it would imply there are very important people, like politicians or business people, involved in a crime syndicate to push players in the national team to play in favor of the money stacked by the syndicate and those involved.

I did not know that level of corruption in African football could be so incredibly high...

Right. So you embezzle money meant for a football stadium then FIFA response is to set you up with a referee to ensure you lose the World Cup qualifiers. No, I don’t think so. The decision to bring in a South African referee was not the wisest decision but I won’t pin it on the recent events between NFF and FIFA.

Interesting observation and yes it would have been better if FIFA had scheduled a different referee for the match. There are clear rules in FIFA for practicing neutrality while appointing a referee and it not only include the nationality of the referee but also need to have no conflict of interest.

https://thenationonlineng.net/nigeria-v-gabon-nff-protests-fifa-official-appointments-for-w-cup-play-off/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Apparently not only South African referee but there are also assistant referee from South Africa and Benin. Nigeria seems to have officially protested the decision and like in the past, FIFA could ultimately change the decision in last minute and appoint a new referee. It would not give a good message to force some staff even when FIFA has a larger set to choose from.

It could be that FIFA may be thinking that South Africa has already qualified for the World Cup but how do they explain bring in a referees from Benin Republic- a country Nigeria beat 4 nil last month to revive their chances at the World Cup. FIFA should have also considered the fact that South Africa’s sports minister made some malicious comments against Nigeria. You don’t go something like that if you want a tournament that’s free of conspiracy theories and allegations.

It could be, I've learnt one this about life, most of the speculations we do so called rumours are often the exact situation, just that we lack the right evidence in proving them right, if we could from our end reason in such manners, then expect FIFA that are mainly concerned to have also thought in same or similar manner before taking their decisions.

The odds of winning that game are already stacking up against the Super Eagles. I believe it should be their job to ensure that they beat the odds by winning this game cleanly, ensuring not to put themselves in a position where the officials can influence the game against them.

They have to try not to foul players and score goals that cannot be ruled out. If they can do this, the officials of the game will have no power.

The players should take this as a driving factor to influence their performance for the better.

The news said the point deduction was for fielding an ineligible player.  No where it stated that it has something to do with the Nigerian complaint.  Probably the timing makes it look so.


But sure, it was a huge controversy why FIFA assigned South Africa, which is the biggest contender, to a very important match for Nigeria.  There is something that most people don't know that is cooking in this tournament.  FIFA is not thinking of the possible consequences and issues with their decision.  Having South Africa as the center referee and more South African officials to fit the other referee roles, this is sure to be a conflict of interest in the eyes of the Nigerian camp.

I don't know if any reply has told you yet but not only is a South African referee officiating the match between Nigeria and Gabon also there is a referee from Benin Republic who will be part of the video assistant referee's team.
I don't know why FIFA made such decision, the match has already drawn negative vibes, South Africa and Benin Republic were In the Nigerian world cup qualifiers group and there is no need making this type of Decision.

We should remove politics from football because, I don't see anything wrong in FIFA or even CAF choosing a referee from anywhere to officiating the Nigeria vs Gabon game that,is coming up. FIFA chooses only the best Referees to officiates these types games. We should be careful with the way that we reacts to some matters because we may be indirectly accusing FIFA of corruption when in actually fact there is nothing like that.



From what I can get from your post all I can see is FIFA trying to bring match officials from a section of the continent that doesn't wants Nigeria to qualify for the world cup. Even if the Referee and the VAR official you are mentioning is from South Africa or Benin Republic which coincidentally was in Nigeria's group, I don't see anything wrong because what they are going to use in officiating the match is the laws of football.

That’s not fair at all.. and it’s even coming directly from FIFA :P
Yeah, I just confirmed this too… there was no complaint from the NFF or its bodies and neither was there any complaint from other bodies. Even their main opponent for the game, Lesotho, didn’t file anything. Maybe an article created some misinformation because there are lots of bloggers here sharing wrong info at times.

But McKenzie accused Nigeria of working against South Africa’s qualification.
This were his words from a Radio 947 interview in Johannesburg:
Source  (https://www.thecable.ng/south-africas-sports-minister-why-i-dont-want-nigeria-to-qualify-for-2026-world-cup/)
There’s no evidence, so this could actually be misinterpreted to the public the other way round by bloggers.

This Trust issue is destroying Africa football, we believe things are compromised and not merited, tell me why this is a concern if we believe in professionalim. But the continent is a corrupt one, we lack trust among ourselves. FIFA will not change the Referee, let dem prove themselves that they can be professional. Nigeria should stop complaining, the ref is no going to touch the ball, if Nigeria play well the Ref won't stop their win.  Nigeria and South Africa are not good friends, they always fight each other, in the game of football, everyone is equal and FIFA must ensure they protect FIFA fair play act in this game.

Hmm could this be FIFA’s way of stealing attention and making some controversial decisions to keep the fans and spectators interested to watch. We know that controversial calls often make big headlines so maybe they are doing that or maybe they just didn’t care enough.

Do they have some kind of agenda????

Although people have a good perception of FIFA or CAF, recently some issues have faced doubts and criticism in the media and public, which has created controversy. In this situation, FIFA or CAF should appoint referees who do not have any recent controversies or allegations related to their country or team. This is good for everyone in terms of fairness and transparency, because the real beauty of the game is when no one doubts the match results. When politics and sports are at odds, the real beauty of the game is lost.

I like the fact that FIFA's decision to use a South African referee is causing some kind of concern on social media. Even if there were some sort of ulterior motives behind the appointment,  now that those involved know that all eyes are on them, they wouldn’t want to tarnish their image publicly. I know that a lot of things have been said which has triggered this concerns online, that does not mean that if one team plays well, they'll not be given their deserving merits. This is something we will all watch and give our verdict at the end. Instead of complaining, the Super Eagles team should work hard towards emerging victorious so that any act of misconduct will be noticed clearly by all.

The current issue is Nigeria which feels the appointment of the South African referee stemmed from a previous dispute between Nigeria and South Africa which was still tense due to the pressure surrounding the punishment given to Bafana Bafana.

I believe this drama adds spice to the match in the second round although protesting it might be difficult with the match only two days away.
Hopefully, there won't be any further drama even though the referee can no longer be replaced and can officiate fairly.

It's hard to understand these FIFA decisions; sometimes it seems like they do it on purpose to create controversy. Well, it's obvious, you know? It might even be a coincidence, but you can understand why people are suspicious, really...

Even without South Africa sport ministry saying that, I do not think it is a wise idea for FIFA to use someone from South Africa as the referee because Nigeria and South Africa are not really in good term in this ongoing world cup qualification. I hope this will only make Nigerian players strong and win the match.

I am very sure that it is not a coincidence, FIFA know what they are doing but I do not understand the reason.