Ibex did not score in Addis

On October 13, 2013, African champions, Nigeria were under the cosh in Addis Ababa as the Walia Ibex threatened to rip them to shreds in the first leg playoff of their 2014 Fifa World Cup playoff.

The Nigerians were hardly having a kick in the early stages of the game as the Ethiopians dominated comprehensively.

Salhadin Said, Ethiopia’s most influential player, sent the 22,000 fans in the stands into frenzy in the 24th minute when he “scored” the game’s opening goal but as the striker wheeled away in celebration, he was stopped in his tracks by the referee, Neant Alioum who ruled that Nigerian defender, Godfrey Oboabona had cleared the effort off the line.

Said was livid but Oboabona has now exclusively told supersport.com that the referee was right to wave play on as he cleared the ball before it crossed the line.

“I am a very honest man. If the ball had crossed the line, I would have allowed it to hit the back of the net. I was closest to the ball than anyone in that stadium so when I say the ball did not cross the line, you have to believe I am saying the truth,” he said.

The Ethiopians eventually took the lead through Behalu Assefa in the 56th minute. Fans of the Super Eagles put the blame squarely on goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama who appeared to be beyond his line when he grabbed Assefa’s harmless looking cross-shot.

The Nigerian goalkeeper and captain, Enyeama absolves himself of any blame and is still very angry that referee Alioum decided to award the goal.

“I am convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that none of those balls crossed the line. I knew how I positioned myself and I know where I caught the ball.

“The images seen on television were not conclusive. None of the efforts of the Ethiopians crossed the line so technically, you can say Ethiopia never scored in the first leg,” Enyeama said.

Both sets of players will finally have the chance to set the records straight and hopefully, the game will not hog the headlines over dodgy refereeing decisions.