Hooliganism: Inconsistent Interpretation of Rules. NLO board overturn 1-1 scoreline to gift Fc Ona Pal 3 points.
- All eyes on the LMC decision on the Kano Pillars Fc vs Dakkada Fc game.
The Board of the Nigerian Nationwide League has offered a new dimension to Hooliganism case adjudication in Nigeria following it’s award of 3 points and 3 goals to a team in a case of Hooliganism.
What Happened !!!
Essien Ayi played host to Fc Ona Pal in a Nigerian Nationwide League One clash on the 17th of June 2022 at the St Patrick school sports complex in Calabar.
The tension soaked encounter finished in a 1-1 draw. After the full time whistle, a case of Hooliganism was reported against Essien Ayi Fc whose fans and some identified players attacked the match officials.
In their judgement less than 24hrs after the game, the NLO board strangely awarded 3 points and 3 goals to the away team plus varying degrees of Sanctions against Essien Ayi Fc.
The strange judgement which overturns the result of a concluded match for a post match incident to gift one team all three points plus goal is inconsistent with previous judgements on same cases by the NLO board and other league bodies in the country.
Previously, this cases are handled without changes to the scoreline because the said incident occured after a hitch free conclusion of the game. The decision of the NLO board quoting Article 4.07 : 1-4 thus exposes a worrying inconsistency in adjudication of hooliganism cases in Nigeria .
In the 2019/2020 Nigerian National League season , Vandrezzer Fc were gifted three points and three goals for a case of Hooliganism and violent disruptions during their clash with Osun United. This was however overturned by the NFF appeals committee.
Fans and Football enthusiasts will in the coming days pay close attention to the decisions of the League Management Company as per the Hooliganism case in the NPFL clash between Kano Pillars Fc and Dakkada Fc where the Pillars chairman reportedly punched the assistant referee Into changing his decision on Dakkada Fc’s equalizing goal.
Will the LMC follow the Precedence set by the NLO board and award Dakkada Fc three points and three goals ?
