NPFL fines Enyimba N1m over ‘disparaging comments about referees’

The board of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has fined Enyimba FC N1 million for publishing disparaging comments about match officials after their match with Ikorodu City.

In a tweet on its X account on Tuesday, the league body charged Enyimba FC for “publishing disparaging comments against match officials on their social media handle” after their 2-1 victory over Ikorodu City in Aba, Abia.

NPFL added that the club’s remarks “are capable of bringing the game to disrepute”.

The league body also warned the club to avoid publishing inflammatory statements in the future and advised them to use appropriate channels to register their complaints, as a recurrence will lead to weightier sanctions.

Enyimba got N1 million fine for the act, and the club has the right to appeal the sanctions within 48 hours of the date of notice.

Similarly, the NPFL also fined Kano Pillars N2 million for Ahmed Musa’s “disparaging statements about match officials”.

Following Pillars’ loss to Nasarawa United on Sunday, the club released a statement quoting Musa’s fierce criticism of the match officials and NPFL officiating broadly.

In the statement, the Super Eagles captain was quoted as saying the match’s officiating “makes me wonder if coming back to play in the NPFL was the right choice”.

Musa added that “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 continued”.

The league also charged Pillars with failing to ensure the proper conduct of their team, which resulted in the unruly behaviour of Ugochukwu Gabriel, the club’s player,   during the match.

The club was issued a cumulative fine of N2 million for both offences.