Death threats to Nigerian player

JOHANNESBURG (AP):

The Nigerian team has asked its government to provide security for midfielder Sani Kaita after his red card during a World Cup loss to Greece prompted more than 1,000 death threats.

Nigeria team spokesman Idah Peterside said Kaita has received the death threats via e-mail from Nigeria since he was sent off for kicking out at Greece's Vassilis Torosidis in the 33rd minute of Thursday's 2-1 loss at Bloemfontein.

"We just hope that the government will treat these threats as a serious matter," Peterside told The Associated Press yesterday.

Nigeria's Sports Minister Ibrahim Bio is staying in the team's hotel in South Africa and has been alerted to the threats, Peterside said.

Two matches lost

Nigeria has lost their first two matches at the World Cup and can only advance to the next stage if they beat South Korea convincingly and Argentina beat Greece in the last Group B matches. Both matches are scheduled for tomorrow.

Peterside said the threats were a result of frustration by some fans in the football-mad West African nation.

Nigeria lost their opening match 1-0 to Argentina in Rustenburg and was leading Greece 1-0 before Kaita was given a straight red card. The Greeks scored their first goals and rallied to capture their first-ever win at the World Cup.

"A lot of people think we are already out of the World Cup, and they are just showing the frustration and pain of having so much hope in the Eagles," Peterside said. "It's just a country that's passionate about football, and it's showing in the reactions. But, we are not taking these threats lightly at all."

Security has been increased around the Nigerian team's base in Durban following the threats, but Peterside doesn't believe the team is under any serious threat while in South Africa.

Kaita, "has apologised to his team-mates, and they all have forgiven him," Peterside said. "We are in good spirits ahead of the South Korea game."

In the most prominent case of an international player being targeted after a World Cup, Colombia defender Andres Escobar was shot and killed in his home country days after his own-goal helped the United States defeat the Colombians 2-1 in a major upset in 1994.

In a recent case in Africa, the Togo national team withdrew from the 2010 African Cup of Nations at Angola in January, following an attack by gunmen on its team bus in which two officials died.