A scandal involving an allegedly falsified health certificate issued to Nigeria’s World Cup goalkeeper Francis Uzoho has put Cyprus football on the spot with growing concern over how Cypriot teams treat their players.
Nigeria international Uzoho found himself caught up in a police probe involving falsifying of a medical certificate that allows him to play in Cyprus.
The suspect health certificate was issued while the player was in mid-air aboard a flight to Cyprus in order to join the Famagusta club on loan from Spanish club Deportivo.
As the player was in mid-air when the certificate was issued, questions arose concerning the legitimacy of samples provided, which were supposed to belong to the keeper, which resulted in the arrest of the club’s acting President Dr Kyriakos Yiangou.
The Pancyprian Footballers Association (PASP), not wanting to comment directly about the case, as there is a police investigation in progress, stressed that this is yet another indication of the irresponsible way footballer’s health cards are issued, endangering their lives, as they go out on the pitch without proper medical checks being carried out.
Talking to the Financial Mirror, PASP’s Executive President, Spyros Neofitides, said the issue of health cards is something that has been of particular concern for some time now. He said that players are essentially putting their lives on the line as the medical process is insufficient.
Neofitides said that while the whole process usually takes 20 days to be completed, “teams pay to have the results in earlier. This is a process that takes place everywhere but having results within a few days and in some case after hours, is very worrying for us.”
He said that the association went to see MPs in October, demanding that the state intervenes to see procedures change.
“The latest incident with Uzoho has brought to light the issue of bringing the procedures up to date once again. The player landed in Cyprus a few hours before the game and went on the pitch without, as it appears, the proper health checks been carried out,” said Neofitides.
He wondered who would be to blame if the player had a health-related incident while playing.
The president of PASP said they want to see more checks being carried out. “We demand that an echocardiogram is added to the list of checks. Players should go through a one-on-one interview with doctors who should ask the athletes to give a full health background for them to have a clearer picture of what health issues may lurk.”
Neofitides referred to the cases of brothers Frangeskos and Panagiotis Loizides, although given a clean slate of health, a few months later complications led the players to take further tests revealing heart- related problems.
“We have been campaigning that the Cyprus Sports Organization (KOA), should review the whole process of issuing Health cards,” said Neofitides.
He added that the health cards are renewed every three years, “a period which is too long for first division players, who are playing at such a competitive level. First division players are playing games with high intensity, week-in, week out, and in some case 2-3 matches a week”.
Neofitides said doctors should behave in a responsible manner.
“The latest cases have left question marks surrounding doctors’ involvement not only regarding the issuance of health cards but also when it comes to managing players health during the season.”
“Our main concern is the health of the athletes. We all have to understand, teams, coaches, spectators, that athletes are above all human and not horses at a race track.”
Health card revoked
Uzoho’s future at the Anorthosis is up in the air as KOA has revoked his health card, with no indication as to when he will be able to play again as his team needs to file for a new one.
The case unravelled just 24 hours after joining the Cypriot team and after playing a leading role in the 1-0 victory over title contenders Apollon Limassol.
Defeated Apollon filed a protest citing irregularities in the mandatory health certificate issued for the Nigerian by the Cyprus Sports Organisation.
Apollon stated in their appeal that while Uzoho arrived in Cyprus at 16.05 on Friday 1 February, KOA’s department dealing with such issues had already shut at 14.30 that same day.
Apollon has questioned the validity of the health certificate, wondering how Anorthosis were able to acquire the document in time. KOA initially said that no foul play was involved and that the health certificate was valid.
Following the player’s testimony that samples were not his and a police investigation, Anorthosis’ acting president Yiangou, a known cardiologist, was arrested to facilitate the investigation last week and was remanded in custody for three days, then released pending the conclusion of the investigation.
Yiangou is suspected of falsifying Uzoho’s samples. A few days later a woman and her husband were arrested and held for a few hours in connection to the case.
Anorthosis and the club’s acting president may pay a heavy price if wrongdoing is proven.
The club could find itself losing 9 point (their win against Apollon will be annulled plus a 6 point deduction), while Yiangou could face criminal charges for falsifying documents.
As far as Uzoho is concerned, it depends on whether he was aware of any wrongdoing. As things stand Uzoho does not appear to have any involvement or knowledge of what happened.
He was left out of the Anorthosis squad against Salamina last Saturday and is expected to be left out once more as his health card has been revoked.
The Cyprus Football Association is to decide on the fate of the game between the Famagusta team and Apollon on Monday, after a series of postponements.
The CFA accuses KOA of not clarifying the status of the health card, that is whether the card is considered valid during the period of the game between Anorthosis and Apollon.
Uzoho, remembered for his excellent World Cup 2018 performance, joined the Cypriot team on loan from Deportivo on transfer deadline day. He wanted top-flight football ahead of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria’s first-choice keeper moved to Cyprus after an injury-hit campaign and lack of regular football in Spain became a source of concern for Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr ahead of the tournament in Egypt.
Capped 12 times by Nigeria, he played all three group-stage matches before the ‘Super Eagles’ exited the World Cup in Russia.
In October 2017, Uzoho became the youngest foreign goalkeeper to ever play in La Liga and marked a memorable Deportivo La Coruna debut with a clean sheet.
