Late arrival part of Motema Pembe’s antics against Rivers United – Chris Green

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Rivers State Commissioner of Sports, Chris Green says DC Motema Pembe’s resolve to arrive late for the CAF Confederation Cup clash initially slated for Wednesday was part of the Congolese antics.

The Congolese side failed to arrive in Nigeria on Wednesday the day when the game was to take place leading to its postponement till Thursday.

According to former NFF technical director Green, the Congolese side seek to know the result of the match between Diables Noirs and Asec Mimosa to weigh its option of qualifying and playing its politics.

“Not arriving early might be one of the antics deployed by DC Motema Pembe. They might want to see the match between Diables Noirs and Asec Mimosa first. I think that was the antics they want to play.” Green told Kennis FM.

“When we got to Angola, it took us like five days to process our visa on arrival. When we got to the venue of the match, it took us like five hours at the airport to do the normal formalities. In fact, they couldn’t stamp passports when we got there. They allowed us to get in and we left our passports before we came back and collect them.”

Asec Mimosa of Ivory Coast picked a 1-0 win away from home against Diables Noirs of Congo on Wednesday.

Stanley Eguma’s side needs a win on Thursday against Motema Pembe to return to the top of the log which the Rivers State Football Association chairman is confident the Nigerian champions can achieve.

He said: “They have two points and at the wrong end of the ladder. I am sure they want to know what will happen in that game between Diables Noirs and Asec Mimosa so that they will know if they have the chance of pulling any strings in terms of doing the politics of the game but we are here ready.

“We have prepared our team. In football, there are surprises here and there.”

Asec Mimosa tops the log with seven points ahead of Rivers United (6 points), Diales Noir (4 points), and Motema Pembe (2 points).