Football might be a limited contact sport officially, but well know that things are prone to getting nasty on the field.
Case in point, during this weekend’s FIFA Women’s World Cup clash between our very own Matildas and their Group D rival Nigeria, midfielder Sam Kerr took a nasty hit behind play at the hands – or should we say elbow – of Ugo Njoku, in what was widely panned as a severe, unsportsmanlike incident that was completely against the spirit of World Cup play.
Though Kerr did not suffer any major damage to her face, and is expected to recover in time for Australia’s final Group stage clash against Sweden, Njoku was still expected to face a hefty ban, with comparisons drawn to a similar incident in the 1994 World Cup, in which Italian Mario Tassotti was banned for eight matches for breaking Spain’s Luis Enrique‘s nose with his elbow.
But FIFA today returned a much lighter verdict than many were expecting, handing Njoku a three match ban, coupled with a fine of 3000 Swiss Francs (or about AU$4200), and severely reprimanded her for misconduct. The ban will see Njoku miss Nigeria’s final group stage match against the USA on Wednesday.
Despite the injury to Kerr, which occurred in the second half of the match, the Matildas dominated their less fancied opponents to run out a 2-0 winner, behind a magnificent double from forward Kyah Simon.
The Matildas final group stage match against Sweden looms as a vitally important one. Barring a monumental upset in Nigeria flogging the USA, a draw will be enough to see the Australia qualify for the next round of the tournament.
The match takes place from Edmonton on Wednesday morning, which you can watch live on SBS One from 9:30am.
Photo: Jewel Samad via Getty Images.
via ABC News.
