NFA,Vogt Argue Over Compensation Clause

A war of attrition appears to be looming between the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) and dismissed coach Berti Vogts as both sides prepare the fight on opposing corners of a $1.4million (N166 million) compensation settlement.
The NFA sent a 30-day notice of dismissal to the coach following the dismal performance of the Super Eagles at the Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana where they were eliminated by the hosts in the quarter finals, Nigeria's worst performance in 20 years.
The coach, through his lawyer, on Wednesday came out with a public statement stating that “the actions and behaviours of the NFA during and after the Nations Cup made further cooperation impossible”.
In addition, Vogts’ Technical Assistant Emeka Ezeala told KickOffNigeria.com that the NFA would have to face the implications of terminating Vogts contract.
‘They know the implications of what they have done by writing him that letter as per the terms of the contract and they will have to figure that one out,” says Ezeala.
According to the German's contract, termination would see him being paid out the full value of the remainder of his contract.
Top NFA officials declined to comment on the issue, but it was learnt that this was deliberate, as the Glass House attempts to stay on the straight and narrow with regards to the terms of the contract.
The said contract with the German includes a confidentiality clause, and the FA have made no official comment since a short press statement the day after the quarterfinal defeat dissociating themselves from reports of the coach’s dismissal.
But FA officials claim that Vogts has breached several aspects of the document.
‘After the match, we wrote him a memo asking for his formal report on the competition. He didn’t respond and we did not even know when he left for Germany.
‘We then sent him a letter asking him to come down to Abuja for a meeting so we can discuss the way forward. We did not get a response to that either.’
KickOffNigeria.com was also informed that even the notice of dismissal sent to the coach was covered by the confidentiality clause, and the fact that the German has made the fact public, albeit through a proxy, was a direct breach of the terms of the agreement.
Officials said that they are prepared to fight it all the way. The NFA big guns are due to return to Abuja today, but already, strategic meetings have been taking place in Lagos and the Association's lawyers have been called in as the Glass House attempts to wriggle their way out of paying the financially crippling compensation.
Not that Vogts and his lawyers won’t have something to say about that.