Jersey reprieve for Tanzania star

Nadir Haroub gave away his jersey to Samuel Eto’o

The Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) has reversed its decision to impose a financial penalty on a player who swapped jerseys with Samuel Eto’o.

Defender Nadir Haroub gave away his jersey to the Cameroon star after the teams’ recent World Cup qualifier in Yaounde.

Tanzania lost a hard-fought encounter 2-1 and the local media praised Haroub and said his performance was the reason Eto’o was keen to swap jerseys with him.

But the TFF bigwigs were clearly not amused by the gesture and told Haroub that part of his allowance would be used to replace the jersey.

The team’s management insisted that Taifa Stars players were not allowed to give away jerseys as the federation could not afford a new set of jerseys for each match.

But following criticism from the media and fans alike, the TFF has backtracked and said the player would not be punished.

“It’s obvious he couldn’t say no to Eto’o,” said TFF president Leodegar Tenga.

“It was a wise decision to give his jersey to such a famous player. This will make our country known,” he added.

A fund-raising drive was already underway with fans donating money to help Haroub meet the cost of replacing the jersey.