Akin Ayomide
Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has accused the Democratic Republic of Congo of using “voodoo” during the penalty shoot-out of Sunday’s World Cup qualifying playoff final in Morocco.
Chelle made the allegation while addressing reporters after the match, saying his frustrations were directed at some members of DR Congo’s backroom staff during the tense shoot-out.
Nigeria took an early lead in the third minute through a deflected strike from Frank Onyeka, before Meschak Elia drew DR Congo level later in the first half. With no further goals in regulation time or extra time, the match ended 1–1 after 120 minutes.
The Congolese side eventually won on penalties to progress to the final stage of the qualifying play-offs.
The drama continued after Chancel Mbemba converted the winning penalty. Chelle stormed towards the DR Congo technical area and confronted several staff members, including head coach Sébastien Desabre, before being restrained by Nigeria’s officials.
Desabre, who spoke first at the post-match press conference, downplayed the incident, describing it as “not an issue.”
Chelle, however, insisted otherwise. He claimed that members of the Congolese bench resorted to “voodoo” rituals during every penalty kick and said he saw someone in their technical area using “something water” in an attempt to jinx Nigerian players.
“During all the penalty sessions, the guy from Congo did some voodoo,” Chelle said.
“Every time, so this is why I was a little nervous after him.”
When asked what he saw the Congo guy doing, Chelle added, “Yeah, something like, I don’t know if it’s water or something like that [he was spraying it up].”
The defeat adds to Nigeria’s recent World Cup woes. The Super Eagles also failed to qualify for the 2022 tournament, marking the first time they have missed two consecutive editions since making their debut in 1994.