THE Nigeria Football Federation has taken action against over a dozen referees as poor officiating continues to mar the country’s top division, the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL).
The governing body’s hammer came down heavily yesterday as it suspended 14 referees and assistant referees for poor officiating in the NPFL
The NFF’s referees development committee informed NPFL Chief Operating Officer Davidson Owumi of the decision in a letter yesterday.
The affected officials include referee Bawa Buhari from Gombe Stars for his poor performance in Niger Tornadoes versus Rivers United on matchday 2, as well as Anambra State’s Chukwuma Jahlove and his assistant referee Akinwale Tomiwa from Oyo State for their handling of Niger Tornadoes versus Bayelsa United on matchday 4.
Sporting Lagos versus Niger Tornadoes assistant referee Zachariah Nde from Delta State as well as Katsina State referee Saeed Abdulaziz and his assistant Jimmy Aimugbonrie from Edo State (Gombe United versus Plateau United) were also affected.
Referee Imamu Maliki of Kano State and assistant referee Sunday Azi from Plateau State have also been suspended for their mishandling of the matchday 7 fixture in Benin City between Bendel Insurance and Remo Stars on Sunday.
All the four officials involved in the handling of Sunshine Stars versus Abia Warriors on matchday 6 as well as referee Brown Ebenezer of Abia State and assistant referee Atuwho Morrison of Delta State, who officiated Kwara United versus Sporting Lagos, have also been suspended.
“We write to convey to you and the entire Board and Management of the Nigeria Professional Football League, the warm sporting regards of the NFF Referees’ Development Committee members,” the letter to Owumi says.
“Sir, sequel to the perceived poor performance of the referee/assistant referees in the under-listed NPFL matches, we are obliged to step down the specifically affected match officials in the line of the decision in such instant cases until the appropriate technical evaluation of such decisions are determined to be either right or wrong.
“Furthermore, the committee would very much appreciate if the full video of these matches were provided to the committee for proper evaluation of decisions and performances of these officials.”
The suspension of the referees and assistant referees is indefinite as the NFF attempts to clean up the image of the league which has been fraught with scandalous officiating and crowd trouble over the years.
