Attacks on referees herald 2018 NPFL season
It is no longer news that the 2018 Nigeria Professional Football League commenced last Sunday at match venues across the country.
What is however news is that attacks on match officials heralded the season as two match venues the Muhammadu Dikko stadium Katsina and Lafia township stadium witnessed unsavoury attacks on referees.
Although the incident in Katsina was not a bad as what happened in Lafia where the referees were brutalized, it no doubt sent the signal that the Muhammadu Dikko stadium may be a ‘slaughter’ slab for referees.
Consequently, the Nigeria Referees Association through its Public Secretary Kelechi Mejuobi has expressed sadness over the two ugly incidents and called on stakeholders to refrain from making referees their scapegoats when results do not favour them.
“In the week one matches played on Saturday and Sunday, the referees who were on duty in some centres received pockets of unsavoury treatments that poses danger to the lives of the match officials in the games ahead.
“The referees’ body which is keenly monitoring the situation by following the cases of the victims, sympathises with their injured members involved, while expecting that the report of the incidents will be sent to appropriate quarters for further actions.
“Preliminary reports have it that while there was a minor attempt to maltreat the referees who handled the league opener in Katsina; Katsina United versus Kano Pillars, the Nasarawa United versus Plateau United clash turned awry for the referees who were seriously brutalised leading to a disturbing health condition,” the statement reads in part.
The statement also quoted the NRA president Tade Azeez as calling on all football stakeholders to provide the enabling environment for Nigerian referees to operate without any hindrance.