Maduka Okoye has been let loose by the Dutch Football Association, KNVB, after it announced that it would not be investigating a report that the Nigerian goalkeeper feigned an injury during Sparta Rotterdam’s Eredivisie match against Go Ahead Eagles on Saturday.
Struggling Sparta boosted their chances of avoiding relegation following a narrow 1-0 victory against the Eagles at the Sparta-Stadion Het Kasteel.
It was a great day for the Nigeria international, who kept his fourth clean sheet of the season, and his second in three matches, but his antics, after he feigned an injury, was the major talking point after the game.
Midway through the first half, Sparta boss Henk Fraser signalled to Okoye to stay down on the turf pretending to be injured so the manager could pass tactical instructions to his outfield players, before Adil Auassar’s second-half strike eventually won the tie for the home side.
Speaking after the game, Fraser owned up to his out-of-the-rule-book tactic to convey tactical changes to his players.
“We are Dutch. I am proud to be fifty-fifty Surinamese. But we are very good at finding the loopholes in the law,” Fraser was quoted as saying by Voetbalzone.
“It is not up to me to change that. You could, of course, influence it. People can say that they think I am very unsportsmanlike, I think that’s fine and I understand that. I have to survive; we have to survive as Sparta.
“A lot is allowed in sport and love.”
KNVB in its response through a spokesperson said Okoye’s action would not be investigated.
“The football association states that ‘in a general sense’ it is looking at what can be done about it,” Voetbalzone said quoting Algemeen Dagblad
“The action of Maduka Okoye during the game against Go Ahead, after about 25 minutes, will not be specifically investigated. It is in fact up to the FIFA Rules of the Game Committee to possibly change rules. That is not what the KNVB is about.”
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