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Matthew Vella
Lija Athletic football club’s president Charles Scerri is adamant not to give any comment on the premature release of Nigerian signing Francis Aneke, who has twice been deported from European countries for being reportedly HIV positive, sending his football career haywire as he now faces yet another debacle.
From reports appearing in the Turkish Hurriyet, in 1999 the 19-year old Aneke was deported from Cyprus after a test was carried out by the Yeni Cami football club, a Turkish-Cypriot side, for Aneke to apply for a work permit. According to the online Turkish Daily News, Aneke tested HIV positive and was sent by ship to Istanbul, Turkey, claiming to have a clean bill of health from a private clinic in Nicosia, allegedly providing a standard blood test but not an HIV test.
Aneke signed to Istanbulspor but reports in the Turkish Milliyet confirmed that four separate HIV tests carried out on Aneke at Istanbul’s Capa Medical Faculty Hospital had all proved positive, subsequently leading to him being deported from Turkey, according to the news report.
MaltaToday is informed that Aneke, who has not played in any of the first two premiership games this season, has been paid an airline ticket to Nigeria by Lija Athletic and has already left the country. Club president Charles Scerri refused to comment on Aneke and said the Nigerian had been released due to an injury, but would not confirm nor deny whether Aneke was released due to reports of him being HIV positive. Scerri refused to confirm whether the club had also paid his ticket to Nigeria: “I don’t know who you are,” he said referring to MaltaToday. “You could be anyone and I am not going to say anything. I have enough experience to know not to answer you. This is none of your business.”
Nigerian football agent Damian Iwueke, who was introduced to the young player in Malta in August this year, told this newspaper that he introduced Aneke to Lija Athletic but was unaware that he could be HIV positive.
“This comes as a big surprise to me. I was his agent after meeting him in Malta, but I soon released him since Lija Athletic threatened not to sign him with me as his agent, so as not pay the agent’s fee. So he signed anyway with the club, but not under my charge and without me knowing. I had stopped representing him.”
The unfortunate football career of Francis Aneke may as well continue to dog him as he faces discrimination due to being HIV positive, threatening his footballing future. Malta Football Association PRO Luke Micallef however told MaltaToday the association would support football players who are HIV positive.
“We don’t know anything about the medical certification of footballers. We don’t ask about their health, nor about their criminal record. That’s the club’s responsibility. So far we have never had any precedents with regards to HIV positive players. I don’t know of any cases.”
Dr Philip Carabott, from the Genitourinary clinic that deals with sexually transmitted diseases told MaltaToday there are no documented cases of HIV being transmitted during participation in sports. “Where there is bleeding from bodily contact the risk of transmission is very low. There is no risk of HIV transmission through sports activities where bleeding does not occur.
“People with HIV, including athletes, should never be discriminated against. While it is good that we all remain continuously aware of HIV and all other sexually transmitted infections, and not become complacent, we must never become alarmist. The main mode of transmission of all STDs is by definition sexual transmission, and this is were all precautions should be taken.”
The transmission of HIV and AIDS has become of great concern in sports, especially in contact sports like football, wrestling, hockey and basketball but the risk of transmission has been ruled out by medical bodies. Athletes who announced they were HIV positive included basketball legend Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson in 1991, swimmer Greg Louganis and boxer Tommy Morrison. During the 1988 Seoul Olympics in South Korea, Louganis, who was known to be HIV positive, hit his head on a diving board during the three metre diving contest, lacerating his scalp which resulted in bleeding. The attending physician Jim Puffer applied stitches to Louganis’s scalp without protective gloves. Given the sheer volume of chlorinated water in the pool, the risk of infection to other divers was declared to be extremely low and very remote.
According to the US Surgeon General, participation in sports carries “virtually no risk of contracting HIV.” Sweat, the most common bodily fluid exchanged between athletes, is not known to carry HIV.
matthew@newsworksltd.com
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