Under the chairmanship of Marcel Mathier (Switzerland), the FIFA Disciplinary Committee recently reviewed a number of cases and decided upon disciplinary sanctions as a result of post-match press conference comments made by the Nigerian coach, Ladan Bosso, and the on-field actions of Chilean players and officials at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007.
Ladan Bosso(photo), the head coach of the U-20 Nigerian team during the FIFA U-20 World Cup, has been banned from all football-related activities for four months and fined a total of CHF 11,000, including procedural costs. The coach was found guilty of “offensive behaviour” under the terms of article 57 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code for comments he made to the media following the Chile v. Nigeria quarter-final in Montreal on 15 July 2007 in which he claimed the influence of racism in the match officials’ decisions during the game.
Chilean player Jaime Grondona (no. 11) has been suspended for nine months at all levels (domestic and international) and fined a total of CHF 7,000 (including procedural costs) for two separate cases of assaulting match officials during the Chile v. Argentina match in Toronto on 19 July 2007. The player was found guilty of “misconduct against match officials” under the terms of article 49, paragraph 1(b) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.
In addition, the Chilean football association has been fined CHF 15,000 for “team misconduct” as per article 52, paragraph 1(c) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code for the aggressive actions directed towards the match officials by Chilean players and officials at the conclusion of the same Chile v. Argentina match on 19 July 2007.
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