Dakkada appeal NFF Disciplinary Committee decision

Facts have emerged that Uyo-based NPFL outfit, Dakkada, have appealed against one of the rulings of the NFF Disciplinary Committee (NDC) in the matter between Kano Pillars and Dakkada FC as contained in the decisions of the NDC which were released at the end of the Committee’s sitting in Abuja, last Friday.

According to a source close to the top flight side, the Chosen Ones are requesting that the result of the match be declared the draw that it was and one point added to their tally for the season while two are deducted from points already accrued by Kano Pillars.

“I commend the determination of members of the NDC to stand by the truth to reach the decisions that they so honourably reached but I am worried that the failure of the NDC to declare the result of the match as the draw that it was would set a very dangerous precedent for our football especially because the NDC put calls across to the centre referee, Mr. Hayatou Muhammad and assistant referee one, Mr. Olalekan, both of whom confirmed to the Committee on speaker phone that the match finished 1-1 and that they were under duress while writing the initial match report”.

“Going forward, teams may be tempted to physically assault match officials in the course of a football match thereby forcibly getting them to disallow goals and thereafter intimidate them into writing spurious match reports and relay the same to the LMC within twenty-four hours with a gun to their heads”, the source, who did not want his name mentioned, said.

The 2018/2019 NNL Champions are also hoping that the decision to suspend the match officials, whom they describe as heroes of the domestic game, would be rescinded.

“Imagine suspending the match officials for standing by the truth in the face of untold intimidation, threats and physical assault”. “The assistant referee one lost consciousness for over five minutes, only to recover and be suspended? Does that not worry stakeholders including the NRA?” “To me, they are the heroes of the domestic game and should be treated as such”, the source added.

On the issue of damaged camera, the source questioned, ” If they did not damage our camera and layed siege on our videographer, how come there are no further footages of what happened immediately after the former Chairman, Alhaji Surajo, punched the assistant referee one?” “They removed the camera’s memory card, broke the microphone, damaged the lens and removed the battery by the time they returned it to us but fortunately for us the match was recorded on to the internal (inbuilt) memory of the camera, that is why we were still able to have the clips”, the source noted.

Meanwhile the decisions of the NDC in the matter have continued to be celebrated by stakeholders across the country with many describing them as just and fair in the interest of the growth and development of football in the country.

As the season winds down this weekend, both Kano Pillars and Dakkada will be fighting for their NPFL lives with home fixtures against Shooting Stars SC and Sunshine Stars respectively on the last day of this campaign.