The powers that be at St. Mary's have expressed righteous indignation following their dramatic ejection from the English Championship play offs. GoalZ...
The powers that be at St. Mary's have expressed righteous indignation following their dramatic ejection from the English Championship play offs. GoalZaza can exclusively report that Southampton Football Club have formally lodged an appeal against what they term a manifestly disproportionate sanction. The club. �s hierarchy, in a strongly worded statement, has argued that the removal from the promotion race is unprecedented in the entire history of the English game. They claim the punishment outweighs every previous penalty handed down for similar infractions, calling into question the proportionality of the judgment handed down by the Football League. At the end of the day, the Saints feel they have been singled out for a punishment far exceeding the crime of observing a training session without permission. In the scheme of things, a point deduction or a hefty fine would have been more palatable, but the lion's share of their season's labour has now been rendered worthless by this severe edict. The club's legal team is now seeking to overturn the ruling, insisting that the punishment does not fit the alleged offence. If the appeal fails, it will be a bitter end to a campaign of resilience for the South Coast stalwarts. Back home in Lagos, the reaction among football connoisseurs in the viewing centres has been one of utter disbelief. Many patrons at the popular Zone 3 viewing centre in Surulere were shaking their heads in bemused agreement with Southampton's stance. One passionate fan clad in a replica jersey loudly declared that the English FA had lost their senses, comparing the sanction to a man being sent to prison for stealing a loaf of bread. The general consensus among the discerning football public in Abuja. �s Wuse district was that the punishment reeked of bias and a lack of common sense. They argued that a heavy fine, perhaps in the region of several hundred million Naira, would have made the point without destroying a club. �s entire season. For now, the entire Naija football community waits with bated breath to see if the Saints will be allowed to reclaim their rightful place in the lottery of the play offs.
