Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta have confirmed they will appeal against a nine-point deduction imposed by the country’s FA for fielding Nigeria goalkeeper Francis Uzoho.
The Cypriot Football Association (CFA) punished Anorthosis following a complaint by Apollon Limassol: they claimed that Uzoho, in his debut for Anorthosis, played with an invalid health certificate in a match on February 2 which the Nigerian’s team won 1-0.
The result was overturned to a 3-0 win for Apollon and Uzoho’s club had a further six points deducted as a punitive measure.
The Nigerian shot-stopper, 20, was also handed a one-match suspension and a fine of €1,000, ruling him out of the final match of the Cypriot regular season. He has already sat out two matches since his disputed debut.
However, the club has a released a statement in which they confirm a request for the CFA to postpone its final regular league game while an appeal is lodged.
The overall deduction of nine points has seen the club drop into the bottom half of the 12-team league, which sees six clubs play each other twice more to decide who is relegated.
Uzoho, who has 12 caps for the Super Eagles and is likely to be a part of their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations squad, joined the Cypriot club on loan from Spanish side Deportivo La Coruna last month