Enyimba FC stage walkout of pre-season tournament semi-final vs FC ONE Rocket

Enyimba FC have staged a walkout on their TICO/Select Pre-season tournament semi-final clash vs FC ONE Rocket at the Uyo Township Stadium on Sunday morning.

WHAT HAPPENED: Nigeria Premier Football League Champions Enyimba FC faced Nigeria National League club FC ONE Rocket in the second semi-final of the TICO/Select Pre-season tournament.

The match was played on Saturday September 2 and with scores level at 1-1, the Referee signalled for penalty shoot-outs to decide the winner.

With shootout procedure completed Enyimba FC goalkeeper complained over poor visibility and the match was rescheduled for Sunday morning.

As decided by the competition organizers and the match officials, the second half minutes from the previous day which wasn’t completed was to be played first before the penalty shoot-out, a decision objected by FC ONE Rocket.

After minutes of dialogue, FC ONE Rocket accepted to continue the match but there was more drama to come from the Peoples Elephants camp.

As announced by the tournament coordinator, Ex Nigerian International Ifeanyi Ekuweme, Enyimba FC had decided to walk-out of the match for personal reasons.

Meanwhile, SportsRation understands that the People’s Elephants decision was taken to avoid any confusion, disagreement or conflict that could arise from the already heated conversations about how the encounter will be concluded.

That decision did not sit well with fans at the venue, who felt a walkout was unsportsmanlike.

WHAT NEXT: With the walkout by Enyimba FC, the organizers duely awarded victory to FC ONE Rocket who will now face Abia Warriors FC in the 2023 TICO/Select Pre-season tournament final match.

The final match will take place by 2pm on Sunday September 3, 2023 at the Uyo Township Stadium, Uyo Akwa Ibom State.