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Kaita revisits Greece anguish

Published

10 years ago

April 29, 2014

Nigerian midfielder, Sani Kaita has spoken about
the agony he endured after the 2010 Fifa World Cup finals in South Africa.
The 27-year-old courted controversy after he
was sent off in Nigeria’s group match against
Greece on June 17, 2010.
He was punished by Colombian referee, Óscar Ruiz with a straight red card for kicking Greek left-back, Vasilis Torosidis in the 33rd minute.
Nigeria were leading 1-0 at the time courtesy of a Kalu Uche strike but eventually capitulated to a 1-2 defeat following goals by Dimitris Salpingidis and Torosidis who eventually became a cult hero in his
homeland.
For Kaita, the first Nigerian player to be sent off in a World Cup match, it was a different story.
He was subsequently inundated with death threats from football-mad Nigerian fans and the midfielder has now taken the time to reflect on “a sad moment in my career.”
“The situation was very critical for me. Looking back now, at that moment, the ball was not even in play but (Torosidis) took the ball and smashed it in my face.
“He spoke something in his native tongue which I did not understand.
The next thing I knew was that my leg was on him but I still maintain that I did not intentionally look to strike him. It was a sad moment in my career.” Kaita told supersport.com.
Kaita added that Torosidis acted in a dishonest manner in a bid to ensure that he was sent off by the referee.
“I did not even hit (Torosidis) but he was shouting at the top of his voice, crying like I really hit him. That was a very bad and dishonest way to act to get another professional sent off,” he said.
The 27-year-old says he learnt from the experience and habours no grudge against those who threatened to kill him after the incident.
“Honestly, I don’t have any ill-feelings towards anyone. I had never been involved in anything like that in my career so I just saw it as a learning process,” he said.
Kaita earned 24 senior Nigerian caps between 2005 and 2010.