The upcoming meeting between Tom Saintfiet and Stephen Keshi, as part of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, has escalated into a war of words between the two coaches. Malawi, coached by Saintfiet, had requested to relocate the match against Nigeria to a neutral venue, a request that was rejected. Keshi, the Nigerian coach, responded to the request by stating, “This is where we play our matches and other countries are OK with that. If he wants to talk to FIFA, he should return to Belgium. He’s not an African, he’s a white man, he should go back to Belgium.”
In response, Saintfiet criticized Keshi’s comments, labeling them as racist and unacceptable. Saintfiet asserted that he was only discussing the relocation of the match and that if FIFA takes racism seriously, they should address Keshi’s statements. The tensions between the two coaches added an extra layer of intensity to the upcoming decisive match.
