The CAF says it will soon decide on the appropriate course of action to follow with regards to the abandoned Confederation Cup tie between Bloemfontein Celtic and Rivers United of Nigeria.
The first round, second leg fixture was supposed to have been played on Wednesday but was abandoned after the new Covid-19 travel restrictions prevented Celtic from entering Nigeria.
In updating the status of inter-club competitions, CAF noted: “Regarding the match Rivers United [Nigeria] v Bloemfontein Celtic [South Africa]: the NFF stated that the South African delegation cannot be exempted from the required quarantine.
“The match shall not take place as scheduled. The case will be submitted to the competent body within CAF to decide on the appropriate course of action to follow.”
Celtic management told City Press on Wednesday that they had not received any update from the CAF.
READ: Restrictions in Nigeria shut Bloem Celtic out of return CAF fixture
According to the letter from the office of the general secretary of the NFF, dated January 4, a request for a quarantine waiver for the Celtic contingent was declined. In correspondence seen by City Press, the NFF told the CAF that Nigerian authorities had declined a request for a quarantine waiver for the Celtic contingent.
“I kindly refer you to the subject matter and regrettably inform you that our request for a waiver for the Bloemfontein Celtic FC contingent to Nigeria for the CAF Confederation Cup match #70 has been declined by the authorities.
“We had high hopes of getting the waiver before the end of working today, but unfortunately the request was not approved,” read part of the NFF letter to CAF, also shared with Celtic.
“Please understand that the health policy as put in place by the Nigerian health authority is aimed at controlling the spread of the alarming number of Covid-19 infections in Nigeria and not aimed at South African nationals. The relationship between these two countries remains cordial.”
The NFF has since requested, on behalf of Rivers United, for the CAF to postpone the game.
Celtic trail 2-0 from the first leg they hosted at Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein on December 3. The winner of this round qualify for the additional second preliminary round starting next month.
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