Amaju Pinnick, President of the Nigeria
Football Federation, NFF, has said that Coach Stephen Keshi was sacked
to preserve him from the rage of angered Nigerian fans, who he said were
on the verge of lynching him during Wednesday’s 2015 Africa Cup of
Nations qualifier with Sudan in Abuja.
Pinnick
said he and other NFF Executive Committee members were shocked, as fans
assaulted Keshi with pet bottles and stones, as they demanded for the
head of the coach.
He said the fans chanted “Keshi must go,” “sack Keshi” and “we don’t want Keshi again.”
The NFF swung into action yesterday by dismissing the coach.
“It
was too much to bear. The fans were coming for him and it was going to
be a security risk for us as people had ran out of patience and were
prepared to break the law to achieve their aim. Keshi’s personal safety
was paramount in our decision to relieve him of his duties,” Pinnick
said.
Meanwhile, there are reports
that the NFF will replace sacked Keshi with Jorge Luis Pinto, former
Costa Rica coach or Jose Pekerman, former Colombia coach.
The two international coaches were outstanding with their teams in Brazil 2014 World Cup and their contracts have expired.
