Football
Colin Udoh and KweséESPN Staff 6y

Nigeria's Salisu Yusuf implicated in bribery scandal

Nigerian coach Salisu Yusuf is the latest high-profile African footballing figure to have been implicated in the ongoing bribery scandal affecting the sport on the continent.

The BBC have published footage showing the home-based Super Eagles and Nigeria Olympic coach allegedly receiving a cash gift from investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas.

Yusuf also represented Nigeria at the World Cup in Russia, where he was assistant to Gernot Rohr.

In a video filmed in September 2017, the coach is shown meeting with Anas's Tiger Eye agency and accepting cash -- noted in the footage as being $1,000 -- ostensibly to ensure that two players are selected for the African Nations Championship tournament.

The CHAN competition took place in Morocco in January and February, with Yusuf's Eagles reaching the final where they were defeated 4-1 by the hosts.

Yusuf, 56, is also offered 15 percent of future player sales should the figures in question secure transfers on the back of the tournament.

In a prepared statement to the BBC, the coach admitted receiving the money but denied any wrongdoing.

"I did accept $750 handed to me by one of the two agents to the two Nigerian players only as a gift of trivial and symbolic value and not as an inducement to play the two players represented by the two agents, as Anas Aremeyaw Anas and Tiger Eye would want you to believe," Salisu said.

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi told KweséESPN that the organisation would launch an internal investigation.

"We have seen the video on the internet, just like everybody else, and these are very serious allegations," Sanusi said.

"We will be carrying out an internal investigation."

Dr Christian Emeruwa, head of the NFF's Integrity Unit, said the investigation would commence as soon as Salisu was back in the country. Salisu is in the UK recovering from hip surgery.

"The Integrity Unit is aware of the videos and the serious nature of these allegations," Emeruwa said. "As soon as Yusuf returns from the UK, a full and thorough investigation will be carried out."

Sanusi declined to say if Yusuf would be suspended pending the investigation, but a top NFF source informed KweséESPN that the coach was all but finished in his job.

"It will be difficult to see him keeping his job after this," the source said. "The best thing would be for him to resign before the hammer falls."

Anas's exposes have already resulted in the disintegration of the Ghana Football Association after former president Kwesi Nyanyakyi was allegedly shown accepting a cash gift of $65,000 (£48,000).

Similarly, Kenyan referee Marwa Range had to resign his World Cup post, and was subsequently banned by CAF for all football-related activities, after being allegedly recorded taking bribes.

Range was one of several officials who were handed a range of bans by African football's governing body.

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