Eagles Coach,Yusuf, Filmed Receiving Cash in Sting Operation
Super Eagles Chief Coach, Salisu Yusuf, has been caught on camera receiving cash from men posing as football agents.
The sting operation was conducted by controversial Ghanaian journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas in September 2017 - and is being broadcast for the first time by BBC Africa Eye.
Yusuf who led the Homebased Eagles to the silver medal finish at the 2018 African Nations Championship last January was first assistant coach to Gernot Rohr during the 2018 World Cup in Russia, is due to lead the national team to the Olympics in 2020.
In that secretly filmed video, Yusuf was showed receiving money which the sting operators said was to ensure two players are named in the squad for the 2018 African Nations Championship held in Morocco where Nigeria finished as runners up.
The video showed Yusuf, who is paid N3 million monthly by the Nigeria Football Federation, taking $1,000 from the undercover reporters, who eluded to other financial incentives after the coach had taken the money.
‘’So if anything goes through and these players are able to get their contracts, you will get 15% of that contract,’’ one of the undercover reporters told Yusuf and he replied; ‘’they will be in CHAN’’.
According to the FIFA code of ethics, officials should not engage in any activity that gives rise to suspicion or collect any cash gifts.
The two players were eventually selected for the African Nations Championship but no further money was requested or given to Yusuf and there’s no further suggestion that the money he took influenced the selection of the players.
In the video, Yusuf said : ‘’You know in football it is supposed to be by your consistency and form’’.
But in a swift reaction to the video yesterday, Yusuf denied any wrongdoing and said he neither promised nor committed to selecting players for games, adding that he never asked the undercover journalists for money but it was offered to him and the amount was $750, not the $1,000 Anas claims.
Yusuf also stated that he believes the money falls within the gifts the FIFA codes allow for, viewing it as of trivial and symbolic value and not as an inducement to select the two players represented by the two agents.
Meanwhile, the disciplinary committee of the Nigeria Football Federation ( NFF) have given their recommendations on the fate of the coach Yusuf.
The NFF Disciplinary Com- mittee has however asked the board to sack him.
A check at the secretariat of the football house in Abuja revealed that Yusuf will be relieved off his role as coach of the Super Eagles and U23s, but it won’t be immediate as he would be given the chance to defend himself by the board of the NFF.
President Amaju Pinnick and his vice Shehu Dikko were highly disappointed and bitter over the conduct of the Kano born coach, and that has led to suggestions that he won’t survive the axe from the board.