Confederation of African Football, CAF, on Monday fined Nigeria with $5,000 (4,400 euros) over what it described as overcrowding and lack of security during their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Egypt.
The continent’s football governing body imposed the fine at a disciplinary meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, threatening that “sanctions will be applied” if there was any repeat.
It will be recalled that more than 40,000 spectators crowded the 15,000-capacity Ahmadu Bello Stadium in the northern city of Kaduna on March 29 to watch the match, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Fans were seen climbing onto any available space, such as floodlight scaffolding, while others had to be held back from spilling onto the pitch by police mounted on horseback.
The Kaduna State government had thrown open the doors of the venue to allow fans to watch the crucial qualifier for free.
Egypt defeated Nigeria’s Super Eagles in the return leg in Alexandria 1-0, thereby ending any hopes of Nigeria qualifying for the tournament in Gabon next year.
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