Ifeanyi Ubah, owner of Federation Cup holders, FC IfeanyiUbah, has lamented over his club’s early exit from the CAF Confederations Cup.
FCIU were taught a bitter lesson on their debut on the continent following a preliminary round exit at the hands of Egyptian side, Al-Masry.
Despite holding a 1-0 advantage to the North African nation, the Anambra Warriors lost by the same margin on Sunday and eventually crashed out 3-0 on penalties.
And oil magnate, Ifeanyi Ubah, who has invested so much since taking over the club in 2015, could not help but lament their abrupt end to the competition.
“We lost yesterday’s match on penalties. The match ended 1-0 against us after full 90 minutes as they scored through a controversial penalty awarded to them around 25th minute of the match, and hence we didn’t get the needed equaliser having equally beaten them by 1-0 at home, the match was all but stretched into penalty shootout as the aggregate stood at (1-1). Our team couldn’t hold their nerves as they lost out in the shootout,” the billionaire lamented on his Facebook page on Monday.
“It is quite painful that we are out of the competition but grateful we are alive to face tomorrow. A lesson learned and notes were taken.
“My advice is for all to continue to support our own. You needed to see the hostile attitude meted out to your reps and you would weep for Africa. You needed to see the way lenses were used against our team last night without any action taken by the officials. You needed to see the officiating of the match and the dubious penalty awarded to them, then you would weep for African football.
“Now is the time to focus on rebuilding through the league and FA Cup. Congratulations to Rangers and Rivers United for qualifying to next stage of CAF Champions League.”