World football body, FIFA, says Nigeria will pay CHF150,000 (N63.9m) as penalty following violence that erupted at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in March.
Recall that hundreds of irate fans invaded the Abuja stadium on March 29, after Nigeria played out a 1-1 draw against Ghana.
The result effectively saw the Super Eagles crash out of their final playoffs for the 2022 World Cup on the away goal rule.
The rampaging fans destroyed the technical area, pitch and the VIP section of the stadium
However, as part of the punishment meted out to Nigeria, FIFA has also ordered the country to play their next international match behind closed doors.
FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee, in their summary jurisdiction over incidents that occurred during the World Cup qualifiers, delivered the sanctions in a letter updated on April 28.
According to FIFA, Nigeria’s fines were a result of failure to implement “Order and security at matches (failure to implement existing safety rules and failure to ensure that law and order are maintained in the stadium, invasion of the field of play and throwing of objects).”
The violence, according to FIFA, breached Article 16 of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.
A total of 49 countries were either fined or warned by FIFA for misconduct during the qualifiers.