Sanctions Katsina United for breach of match protocol
Barau FC’s General Manager, Dominic Iorfa, has alleged that the violence that resulted to injuries to one of his players, Nana Abraham and almost marred the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Matchday 12 fixture against home team, Katsina United, was premeditated.
Iorfa said that signs of what was in the offing for the visiting Barau FC started materialising when officials of Katsina United insisted that some of their team’s technical officials would not stay on the away team bench for the game.
He said: “This thing started when Katsina United insisted that I would not sit on the team’s bench even when my name was on the match sheet. But the match commissioner told them that once a person’s name is on the match sheet, even if he is the NFF president, he has the right to sit on the bench. This led to an almost 40 minutes delay in the kickoff. Eventually they backed off.”
Iorfa accused Katsina United of fomenting trouble because they wanted to win at all cost.
“When we got our equaliser, they got angry. They accused the match officials of incompetence and started throwing things into the pitch. One of the missiles hit our player, Nana Abraham, but he was treated and he continued the game.”
“What I usually tell team officials is that football is unpredictable, it can go either way. We have played five home games and only won one. We drew three and lost one. We did not fight with anybody because we know that we cannot win all the time.
“They want to mess up the league and spoil what the NPFL is trying to build,” Iorfa said.
Refutting reports that Barau FC’s Abraham was stabbed, Katsina United’s Media Officer, Nasir Gide, accused Iorfa of spreading false news.
He said: “I cannot say that what Iorfa said is true. No fan invaded the pitch. What happened was that when Barau FC got their equalizer in the 69th minute, some fans threw objects towards the reserve team of Barau FC, but we immediately controlled the situation and got the fans to stop throwing things at them.
“Actually the player was hit, but no fan entered the pitch to stab anybody. We have the video. What you have heard is the handiwork of Barau FC’s general manager.
“We have the video of the interview with the player in question where he denied reports that he had been killed in Katsina,” Gide said.
The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) also dismissed the report that Abraham was stabbed during the Matchday 12 fixture at the Muhammad Dikko Stadium.
In a statement yesterday, the NPFL said: “It is imperative to let stakeholders know that the NPFL Office maintains an active Situation Room with all match commissioners, and through this medium, we monitor and direct affairs to ensure hitchfree matches.
“The report of violent attack to the extent of slitting the throat of a player, Abraham Nana of Barau FC is utterly false. The player was hurt by an object hauled from the stands and was treated on the pitch, which led to the match being halted for a few minutes.”
The NPFL said that appropriate sanctions have been meted on Katsina United for breaches established by its analysis of reports from the match officials, including the referee and the match commissioner.
The league body imposed a N9 million fine on Katsina United for breaching the league’s framework and rules during the game, saying that the club was found guilty of multiple infractions relating to crowd misconduct and failure to provide adequate security during the fixture.
As part of the sanctions, Katsina United will play all their subsequent home matches behind closed doors and at a neutral venue, the New Jos Stadium until further notice.
The league body stated that the decision was made to safeguard the integrity of the competition and ensure the safety of players, officials, and fans.
