There appeared to be something extremely fishy about yesterday's Europa League qualification tie between Norwegian club IL Hodd and Kazakhstan’s FC Aktobe.
Hodd, taking a 1-0 first-leg advantage into the return fixture, arrived in Kazakhstan with their best player after his visa application was rejected.
I'm guessing the Kazakhstan side recognized the threat the Nigerian star poses and they they did everything within their powers to stop the former ocean boy from even stepping foot into Kazakhstan soil.
As expected, it was mission accomplished for Aktobe fc as they conveniently turned the Europa tie around with a 2-0 home win to advance 2-1 on aggregate.
Making the whole thing even more fishy are reports which suggest the visa refusal – which came with no explanation whatsoever from the Kazakh embassy – are perhaps retaliation for a similar instance in the first leg, when two key Aktobe players were denied access to Norway.
Hodd coach Lars Arne Nilsen told TV2: “I find it sad that we can’t go [to Kazakhstan] with our best player.
“I do not know very much, and will say little. People can draw their own conclusions, then we will express ours a little later.
“What can I say? We have applied for a visa properly, we were told that everything looked good and then suddenly we are told that he cannot be with us, what do you think about that?
“It is very strange, we have not received any explanation as to why he cannot go. They know their football at the Kazakh embassy.”
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