Ali Ben Naceur. Neji Jouini. Mourad Daami. And now Sadok Selmi. Super Eagles must pick the maximum points at away in the crucial World Cup play off against Black Stars. There is no option. Tunisian referees come with bad news.
Selmi will be in charge of the return leg billed for the Moshood Abiola Stadium. Compatriots Ben Naceur, Jouini and Daami made Nigerians cry buckets in the past. There is always a sad story anytime Tunisian referees handle decisive games involving Nigeria.
It began with Ben Naceur. He was at the centre when the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon defeated Nigeria 3-1 in the grand finale of the African Nations Cup, Cote D’Ivoire ’84.
Another grand finale came in 2000. Again it was Nigeria against Cameroon, for the third time. The referee was Mourad Daami who dubiously awarded victory to the Lions in Lagos.
Eight years earlier, at the Senegal ’92 African Nations Cup, Nigeria would have qualified for the grand finale. In the semi finals against Ghana, Neji Jouini was in charge and the Black Stars romped into the final.
In 1984, the Green Eagles, captained by Stephen Keshi and led to Afcon for the first time by an indigenous coach, Adegboye Onigbinde, qualified for the final. It was a youthful side with only Muda Lawal as senior boy.
Lawal put Nigeria ahead in the 10th minute before Cameroon, full of seasoned stars bounced back to win 3-1. Rene N’Djeya, Theophile Abega and Ernest Ebongue scored to help their country win the African Nations Cup for the first time.
Keshi was disappointed. Indomitable Lions keeper, Joseph-Antoine Bell reminded me of the Nigerian skipper’s mood just before that match.
Bell said : ” That was how we began to love Keshi. Roger Milla and I had attended a radio session with Keshi before the final. He was so confident of victory, insisting that the Eagles promised Nigerians back home that the Cup was theirs. We had a good laugh but were thrilled by his self confidence.”
In 1988, Ben Naceur was in Abidjan again. It was the quarter finals of the African Cup for Champion Clubs ( today’s CAF Champions League). Iwuanyanwu National had a 2-0 first leg edge over Africa Sports, thanks to Sampson ‘Zion Train’ Ozogula.
It was rough in Abidjan. The hosts who had cancelled a 3-0 deficit against Iwuanyanwu in the WAFU Cup a year earlier, were almost going to repeat History before Toyin Ayinla hit them with a ballistic missile. It ended 2-1 and the Nigerians qualified for the semis.
Referee Ben Naceur frustrated Iwuanyanwu as much as local fans who went wild especially after that goal by Ayinla.
Physiotherapist, Alphonsus Dike had his head broken as rabid fans went after him. It was like magic because at that time, Dike who played for Vasco Da Gama and Spartans had not become a coach. He ended up coaching Iwuanyanwu much later.
Ben Naceur nailed himself at the Mexico ’86 World Cup when he ignored Diego Maradona’s hand of God goal against England.
One of his linesmen, Bulgaria’s Bogdan Dochev blamed Ben Naceur’s inexperience. FIFA stopped the Tunisian from handling World Cup games but CAF under Issa Hayatou of Cameroon allowed him to further mess the beautiful game.
Neji Jouini was a disaster at Senegal ’92. Nigerians blamed his terrible officiating for his ouster. Mutiu Adepoju scored for Nigeria eleven minutes after kick off. Prince Opoku Polley equalised for Ghana two minutes to intermission. The winner came from Abedi Pele in the 54th.
I watched that encounter at Dakar’s Stade de l’Amitie.Jouini was playing a script. If Cameroon beat Cote D’Ivoire in the other semis, they would meet either Nigeria or Ghana in the grand finale.
I guess Jouini was out to please Hayatou. He found a way to stop Nigeria with questionable calls. Then he killed Ghana by giving Abedi a yellow card. That was the Black Stars skipper’s second which cost him the grand finale.
Black Stars in 1992 were Abedi Pele and his 10 robots. Taking him away was like crucifying Ghana. That was how Cote D’Ivoire became African champions for the first time. In the Third Place Match, Nigeria defeated Cameroon 2-1.
When the Eagles landed in Lagos from Dakar, newly appointed Sports Commission boss, Chief Alex Akinyele told Nigerians that CAF had suspended Jouini.
I knew Chief Akinyele, a Public Relations consultant only wanted to make Nigerians happy. I was on that flight. There was no such sanction. The only sanction was when Col. Abdul Mumuni Aminu, Head of the Federal Government delegation ordered the Nigeria Airways pilot to land in Banjul.
Col. Aminu harped on discipline. He wanted the players to wear national colours instead of their Dolly Patton’s coat of many colours.
Skipper Stephen Keshi sat next to me and made sure Aminu’s order was obeyed. The players changed right on the tarmac of Banjul Airport.
While Nigerians mourned Sam Okwaraji who died at the National Stadium, Lagos on August 12, 1989, Jouini was making merry. It was his birthday. He turned 40.
Mourad Daami broke Nigerian hearts in the grand finale of the Ghana/Nigeria 2000 African Nations Cup. He disallowed Victor Ikpeba’s goal during penalty shootout after the Super Eagles and Indomitable Lions could not do better than a 2-2 draw after full and over time.
Like Idriss Sarr of Mauritania before him, in 1988, the idea could have been to please CAF boss, Issa Hayatou and punish Nigeria for thrashing Tunisia 4-2 in one of the first round games.
It pleased CAF. Cameroun won controversially beating Nigeria for the third time in an Afcon grand finale.
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Daami disgraced himself later in the year when he accompanied Esperance to the final of the CAF Champions League against Hearts of Oak. He wanted to influence South African referee, Robbie Williams to favour Esperance whose goalie,Chokri El Ouaer deliberately inflicted head injury on himself.
Daami was banned for 12 months. Hearts were lucky. They won the Cup unlike Nigeria who lost to crooked officiating.
Sadok Selmi is coming to Abuja. He is not just Tunisian, his first name Sadok, is not sweet to the ear.
The last Sadok the Eagles encountered was in goal for the Carthage in Eagles in 1977 and again in 1978.
In two games, Tunis and Lagos in 1977, Sadok Sassi, also known as and called ‘Attouga’ was unbeaten in Argentina ’78 World Cup qualifying matches. Godwin Odiye scored against Nigeria at home, in error.
At the Ghana ’78 African Nations Cup, Nigeria and Tunisia met in the Loser’s final. Mohammed Ali Akid scored for the North Africans in the 19th minute. Baba Otu Mohammed equalised in the 42nd.Tunisia abandoned the match. Sadok was their captain.
