NPFL sanctions Gombe, Katsina United, and one other

The Nigeria Premier Football League on Monday fined Gombe United N7m over fans' unruly conduct.

Fans pelted the Pantami Stadium, Gombe with stones while the NPFL match between hosts Gombe United and visiting Kano Pillars was underway.

Pillars’ Yusuf Abdullahi scored five goals as the visitors handed a 5-2 defeat to Gombe.

According to a statement obtained on Tuesday by our correspondent, the club was fined N7m plus a one-match stadium ban for fans.

“In the aftermath of the fans’ unruly conduct in another Match-Day 11 fixture, Gombe United were fined a total of N7m and a one-match stadium ban to fans for breaches ranging from disruption of the match by fans throwing objects onto the field of play, to disruption of the live broadcast of the match and failure to provide adequate and effective security,” the NPFL statement read.

Katsina United were also fined N1m after they flouted NPFL’s directive on dress code during their Match-Day 11 fixture in Lagos against Sporting Lagos.

A Katsina United player wore a jersey that was inappropriately numbered and the NPFL has not only sanctioned the club but is also reporting the Match Officials to the NFF for dereliction of duty in allowing the player to come into the game on Sunday.

In another case arising from Match-Day 10 between Niger Tornadoes and Akwa United, the former was charged with breach of Rule B8.21, C9, and C1.1 for which it was fined a total of N3.250m, including compensatory payment to the centre referee.

The sanctions include a fine of N1m for failure to provide adequate and effective security for match officials, and another fine of N1m for failure to ensure the proper conduct of its officials (stewards/security personnel). There was also a third fine of N1m for misconduct and a N250,000 compensatory payment to the referee (Ahmad Rabiu from the Kano State Referees Council) for losses resulting from the harassment.

The Ahmadu Bello Stadium, the home ground of Tornadoes, has been ordered closed to fans for the next three home fixtures of the club.

Commenting on the breaches and the sanctions, Davidson Owumi, the Chief Operating Officer of the NPFL noted that the regulatory role of the body is to identify and investigate acts that may undermine the integrity of the NPFL and impose appropriate sanctions based on the provisions of the Framework and Rules.

“Our rules have sufficiently made provisions to keep away conducts that are inimical to the overall best interest of the clubs, their players, and fans.

“While we cannot stop any club or individual from certain behaviours, we definitely would not condone such misconduct and would always apply sanctions to serve as a deterrence,” Owumi said.

All three clubs are free to submit to the decisions or elect to appear before a disciplinary commission for a review within 48 hours.