NPFL: Kano Pillars fined for Ahmed Musa's comment about poor officiating

Kano Pillars have been charged for breaching the NPFL Framework & Rules in the course of their Matchday 9 fixture at Nasarawa Utd on Sunday.

The Kano club have been charged for a statement from their Media and Communications Directorate quoting their player, Ahmed Musa, in which he made disparaging statements about match officials. This act is deemed capable of bringing the game to disrepute.

Kano Pillars also failed to ensure the proper conduct of their team resulting in the unruly behaviour of Ugochukwu Gabriel during the match.

Gabriel is suspended for the next nine league matches starting from Matchday 10 for his unruly conduct.

Kano Pillars have been fined N1 million for misconduct capable of bringing the game to disrepute & another N1 million for improper conduct of their players & officials.

Kano Pillars have further been issued a warning on publishing inflammatory statements in future and advised to use appropriate channels to register their complaints as a recurrence will lead to weightier sanctions.

The Kano Club also reserve the rights to appeal the sanctions within 48 hours from the date of notice.

It will be recalled that Ahmed Musa, lambasted match officials, describing them as “moral killers” following their mishandling of Sunday’s Matchday nine fixture between Nasarawa United and Kano Pillars at the Lafia City Stadium.

The former Leicester City forward specifically criticised centre referee Dahiru Muhammed Kawo and assistant referee Abdulmajid Sani Potiskum for allowing a controversial goal where two Nasarawa United players, including the scorer, appeared to be in offside positions.

“I’ve been praising the officiating and the progress in the league up until now, but the performance of the officials in this Matchday 9 game makes me wonder if coming back to play in the NPFL was the right choice,” Musa said.

Nigeria’s all-time FIFA World Cup top scorer, who recently returned to his boyhood club Kano Pillars alongside Shehu Abdullahi, warned that poor officiating could discourage other Super Eagles players from considering finishing their careers in the Nigeria elite division.

“If I keep witnessing such officiating, I cannot encourage anyone to return to the NPFL. It would be a waste of our efforts if this continues,” he added.

Musa, who chose the NPFL over foreign offers, expressed his desire to help elevate the league to European standards but insisted that the current level of officiating doesn’t reflect a serious league, saying, “I wanted to help elevate the NPFL to European standards. But with officiating like what I saw in Lafia, it doesn’t reflect a serious league.”

Kano Pillars Technical Advisor, Usman Abdallah, supported Musa’s position and questioned why the game wasn’t broadcast live as previously scheduled by StarTimes without prior communication about the change.

“With officiating like what we experienced in Lafia, the NPFL will struggle to progress,” Abdallah added.

The Pyramid City side lost the encounter 1-0 and will face Plateau United in their Matchday 10 fixture.