Football’s world governing body FIFA on Monday told Nigeria they risk suspension after a court ruling which nullified the elections of the executive committee of the Nigeria Football Federation.
“The decision of the Federal High Court in (the central city of) Jos, if implemented, would likely be considered as an interference in the internal affairs of the NFF,” the letter read.
Should the ruling be implemented, FIFA would consider sanctions, “including the suspension of the NFF”, the letter dated April 11 from acting secretary general Markus Kattne, added.
FIFA statutes dictate that member states should “manage their affairs independently with no influence from third parties”.
The warning came after the court last week ruled that the September 2014 election of NFF president Amaju Pinnick was null and void.
The case against Pinnick’s election dates back two years when Chris Giwa claimed he had been elected NFF president but FIFA did not endorse the vote and again threatened suspension unless the vote was re-run.
Pinnick, then the chairman of the Delta Football Association in southern Nigeria, was elected but the vote was also deemed to be flawed.
Friday’s court ruling upheld all previous orders of the court, effectively making Chris Giwa NFF head until the end of the current case.
Any ban on the Super Eagles would prevent them from playing in international competitions, including the upcoming World Cup qualifiers later this year.
The federation board has said it will appeal the judgement.
