CAF had ruled that the required period of extra time was not played before the shoot-out and ordered the match to resume from that point. The NFF has rejected the decision, arguing that the Nigerian champions should not be punished for an administrative error made by the match officials.
In its submission, the federation maintained that Edo Queens neither requested nor caused the decision to proceed directly to penalties. The club simply complied with the referee’s instructions after the final whistle.
“The Committee therefore acted unfairly by holding Edo Queens responsible for a referee’s administrative error,” the NFF stated. It emphasised that there was no finding of misconduct, manipulation, bad faith or regulatory breach against the club.
The NFF argued that a clear distinction must be drawn between correcting an irregularity and imposing the consequences of that irregularity on a participant who was not responsible for it. Any remedy, it said, must have a clear regulatory basis and be proportionate.
“Edo Queens did not misrepresent the Regulations to the referee or otherwise induce the referee to depart from Article 72.4. Rather, once the referee directed the teams to proceed to penalties, Edo Queens complied,” the federation submitted.
It further rejected the suggestion that winning the shoot-out retrospectively made the club responsible for the circumstances that led to it. “There is an important distinction between benefiting from an official’s error and causing or procuring the error.”
The NFF also questioned whether the organising committee had the authority to annul the shoot-out and order the match to resume 30 minutes later, noting that the referee had been found to have acted in good faith and that neither club was responsible for the omission of extra time.
The federation is seeking a full review of the decision and is insisting that Edo Queens’ victory in the final should be allowed to stand. The outcome of the appeal will determine whether the Nigerian side retains the WAFU-B title or is required to complete the unfinished final against Ampem Darkoa Ladies.