Common and costly mistakes: Like Cape Verde, like Legia Warsaw

During the Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifying play-offs in Africa, Cape Verde posed a huge challenge to countries beating former African champions Tunisia 2-0 on away soil but as ''fate'' would have it, the new comers had their hopes dashed after FIFA’s disciplinary committee judged that Steaua Bucharest defender Fernando Varela, who played against Tunisia, should have been serving a suspension.

Tunisia tabled the matter before FIFA and the world football’s governing body upheld her claim, reinstating the 2004 African Nations Cup champions, who went ahead to compete in the final playoff round as one of ten group winners.

The player Varela, had earlier been suspended in the match against Equatorial Guinea, a game won 4-1 by Guinea but was awarded to Cape Verde after it was realised that Guinea fielded an ineligible player in that game.

It was funny that Cape Verde attempted to appeal FIFA’s decision after all they also benefitted from Guinea’s ‘error’ which saw them progressed.

Here’s the official FIFA statement on the matter:

"By means of a telephone conference, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has today taken a decision to sanction the Cape Verdean Football Association (FCF) for fielding an ineligible player in the preliminary competition match for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil between Tunisia and the Cape Verde Islands on 7 September 2013.

"The match has been declared to be forfeited and awarded 3-0 in favour of Tunisia, meaning that the Cape Verde Islands will not progress to round three of the FIFA World Cup African zone qualifiers having dropped to second place in Group B with nine points while Tunisia finish first with 14 points and will now advance.

On the most recent of the matter, a European league club from Poland were architects of their own misfortune as they lost the opportunity to play in the UEFA Champions League Play-off after they were charged to have fielded an ineligible player against Celtic FC. 

Legia Warsaw had beaten Celtic silly by 4-1 at home, which would have been enough to see them through to the play-off with hopes of a good outing in Scotland which they did by grabbing an away victory 0-2 to finish (6-1) on aggregate.

Mistakes do happen! But when they do, shifting blames or making excuses is not the best. –Life Fact. It is interesting enough that this nature of technical error can occur in modern day football where facts are checked and double-checked.

No one would blame Celtic for being the benefitting side in this argument, and has clearly stated by Legia Warsaw’s Chairman, Darius Mioduski, ''the world has seen that his club plays good football.''

These days, football is played both on the pitch and in the boardroom where cases are tabled, checked and judged all in the interest of the game.

The right thing to do for Legia Warsaw it to accept their ''fate'' in this matter as they have no one to blame for their own costly but not common mistake rather than say "This is unjust and completely disproportionate according to Legia official Dominik Ebebenge said.

Although it is a bitter pill to swallow for a club like Legia but it would be a waste of time trying to protest or contest UEFA’s ruling on the matter as we have seen in the past that the governing body is usually stout on such decision.