Pardew Wins Battle With Nigeria Over Shola

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew appears to have won the battle over Shola Ameobi after Nigerian Media Officer, Ben Alaiya confirmed that the striker would not be named in the squad for the African Cup of Nations. The news comes after a conflict between Pardew and the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), with Pardew claiming that Ameobi would not be going and that Coach Stephen Keshi knew why. The NFF then made it clear that every available player, if named, is expected to travel. 

Alaiya said;

"Shola's refusal to answer calls gave Keshi no other option than to allow him to concentrate on his club.

The coach and team secretary made several attempts to reach Shola but there was no answer. The coach waited to hear back from him but a call never came.

A decision on the next move will be made at the appropriate time."

Unfortunately, should the International team decide that the next move is to report the club to FIFA, the NFF will most certainly support them and Newcastle could potentially find Ameobi sat on the side-lines if a ban is imposed.

This would be consistent with the approach FIFA took against Papiss Cisse when Senegal made a complaint about the legitimacy of his unavailability.