The Nigeria Football Federation has challenged CAF’s decision to overturn Edo Queens’ victory over Ghanaian champions Ampem Darkoa Ladies in the WAFU-B final.
The appeal, submitted on Tuesday, seeks to reverse the ruling that ordered the match to resume with extra time, after CAF cancelled Edo Queens’ 4-1 penalty shoot-out win.
The September 5 final in Ouagadougou ended 2-2 after 90 minutes, with Edo Queens subsequently winning the shoot-out to claim the WAFU-B title and a place in the CAF Women’s Champions League.
Ampem Darkoa later protested the outcome, prompting CAF to rule on Sunday that two periods of extra time should have been played before penalties under Article 72.4 of the competition regulations.
In its appeal, the NFF argued that Edo Queens should not bear responsibility for an error made by match officials.
The federation said the players neither requested nor influenced the decision to proceed directly to penalties, but simply followed the referee’s instructions.
It also noted that CAF had made no finding of misconduct, manipulation or bad faith against the Nigerian champions.
The NFF maintained that complying with an official’s mistake is fundamentally different from causing or deliberately obtaining that mistake.
“The fact that Edo Queens ultimately won the shoot-out cannot retrospectively convert its compliance with the referee’s instruction into responsibility for the regulatory breach.
