FIFA facilities agent and Chief Executive Officer of Monimichelle Sports Management Company, Ebi Egbe, believes Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State may have been poorly advised on the decision to sack all Bayelsa United players and coaches.

Bayelsa United were relegated from the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) at the recently concluded season and irked by the failure despite the resources spent on the club, the governor decided to sack the entire players and coaches on Wednesday evening.

However, Egbe said, yesterday, that such a blanket action could be viewed as direct government interference in the management of a professional football club.

“While the relegation of Bayelsa United from the NPFL is disappointing, accountability should be based on a thorough review of the club’s administration, funding, player recruitment, technical decisions, and overall management structure rather than a wholesale dismissal of players and coaches,” he said.

“Reports before the club’s relegation showed concerns about the team’s performance and management, but sustainable football development requires institutional reforms rather than reactions driven solely by results.”

Egbe added: “In professional football, responsibility for failure is usually shared among management, technical staff, players, and the supervising authorities. Therefore, if all players and coaches are removed while those responsible for policy, funding, and oversight remain untouched, questions about fairness and the real causes of the club’s decline will naturally arise.”