by Olorunwa Lawal
Nigeria will report German BundesLiga side, Schalke 04, to world football governing body FIFA over their refusal to release Chinedu Obasi for Saturday’s 2015 African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Congo.
Obasi was invited by Super Eagles head coach, Stephen Keshi, for Nigeria’s qualifiers against Congo and South Africa but his German side have held back striker blaming it on his passport unavailability. According to the German side, Obasi’s passport was being held at an embassy for visa application ahead of their champions league matches on September 13 and 17 respectively.
According to Super Eagles media officer Ben Alaiya, the Bundesliga side has no right to hold on to him and they will be reported to Fifa for appropriate sanctions.
“We have two matches on Fifa approved dates. His country has the right to our player Chinedu Obasi for the games.
“Fifa regulations say that a player must report to his national team once international call-up rules are duly respected,” Alaiya told BBC sport.
“The team secretary has done the needful (by sending out the invite three weeks earlier) and we will report Schalke to Fifa for appropriate sanctions,” he concluded.
The Super Eagles are scheduled to play the Red Devils of Congo on Saturday, September 6 at the U. J. Esuene Stadium, Calabar in the qualifiers of the 2015 African Nations Cup. Match is will kick-off 4pm.
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