NFA reeling at CAS snub

WHILE the Namibia Football Association accepts the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to side with the Confederation of African Football, it remains steadfast in its view that the merits of its case were not considered.

Yesterday, NFA secretary general Barry Rukoro said he fears that CAS – just like CAF before them – had primarily dismissed Namibia’s case on a technicality. CAS, which said it would disclose the basis for its ruling in a few weeks, in a statement on Monday indicated that Namibia’s challenge of Cameroon-born defender Herve Zengue’s eligibility was flawed. According to the arbitrators, Zengue had taken residency in Burkina Faso 1994 and was given nationality in 2006 before receiving a five-year passport in March last year. However, Rukoro is adamant that Namibia had a ‘strong case’ and that Zengue does not meet the requirement to play for Burkina Faso.Fifa also said they had not cleared Zengue to play for the West African nation.’To us there is no doubt that he is ineligible. Why do you think they did not include him in the Nations Cup squad? They know that if they play him against other countries they will be in trouble,’ Rukoro told reporters. Rukoro also said the initial arbitration process with CAF had been dodgy. He said contrary to CAF’s intimation, the NFA had followed the protest procedure to the letter.CAF twice dismissed Namibia’s case for failing to comply with Article 37.1 of the 2012 Nations Cup regulations, which states that both captains needed to sign the motivated protest before the second match between the two nations. However, Rukoro said that was not the case and that CAF had failed to produce Namibia’s protest document throughout the entire assessment process to back up its claims. In addition the continental football body admitted that their ruling did not refer to the eligibility of the player. ‘We felt we had a superior argument. Unfortunately we do not at this stage know how CAS arrived at their decision,’ Rukoro said of the verdict which cleared Burkina Faso of any wrongdoing. He felt that CAS’s stance had now rendered the situation insurmountable and what remains is for the NFA to settle the N$280 000 legal cost.’For us the matter is closed. We are proud of the way we conducted ourselves during this entire process and also for standing by what we believe to be true.’ Rukoro said.Meanwhile, Burkina Faso are reportedly relieved by the outcome of the case and are now focused on the tournament that gets underway next week. ‘(The decision) will allow us to better prepare for the competition,’ federation secretary general Emmanuel Zombre told The Associated Press. ‘Players and staff were beginning to be affected by ongoing references to the case.’