NFF Disciplinary Committee reduces Enyimba sanction, up holds points awarded to Rangers

The Organising and Disciplinary Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has reduced sanctions handed over to Enyimba FC in the aftermath of the ugly scenes that overshadowed the NPFL Match Day 36 Oriental Derby them and League winners, Rangers FC at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.

The match was stalemated five minutes into added time when the centre referee awarded a penalty to the host which infuriated Enyimba and led to the disruption of the game.

Enyimba had at the time claimed the attacker was on offside position. This led to spectators invading the pitch which brought the match to an abrupt.

Following the ugly incident, the League house handed out a cumulative fine of N10m on the nine-time Nigeria League Champions and two-time CAF Champions League winners.

Enyimba were also ducked of three goals and three points acruable from the match with the Flying Antelopes awarded three goals and three points from the disputed ‘Oriental Derby’

But following an appeal by the Aba millionaires, the Disciplinary Committee of the NFF headed by Barrister JBC Obikwelu, a retired referee, on Friday, 21 June, 2023, sat and took a holistic review of the matter, coming up with a decision to reduce the N10m fine on Enyimba to N4m.

The Committee found out that, the match venue was overcrowded, frowning at a situation where a 32,000 capacity Stadium was said to have admitted 70,000 spectators.

In it’s final report, the Committee upheld the fine of N1 million against Enyimba FC for failure to ensure the proper conduct of their players, officials and supporters but disagrees with the decision that the live broadcast transmission was disrupted by Enyimba FC for want of evidence and therefore set aside the N5 million fine imposed on the team.

The Committee also disagrees with the decision that the supporters of Enyimba FC threw objects into the field of play for lack of evidence and as such struck out the N1 million fine.

However, the Committee agrees that Enyimba refused to continue with the match in protest against the award of the penalty and upheld the 3 points and 3 points.

In the same vein, the Committee upholds the fine of N1 million imposed on Enyimba for encroachment unto the field of play in accordance with Art.13.19 NPFL Framework and Rules.

Similarly, the Committee agrees with the fine of N2 million imposed on Enyimba FC for the disruption and discontinuation of the match in accordance with Article 13.24 of NPFL Framework and Rules.

In the other case brought by Warinje FC against the Nationwide League One (NLO) in their disputed match against Police Barreta in Lafia on May 28, 2024, the committee disagrees with NLO on its finding on the eligibility of player, Gwaisam Kemin Joseph, stating that he was duly registered and cleared by NLO to play for Warinje FC through a valid Player’s License with number 10351 dated May 14, 2024 as certified by NLO official before the Committee.

The Committee also disagrees with NLO on its decision on double registration by Gwaisam Kemin Joseph, stressing that he was not guilty of double registration rather a victim of complacency on the part of the NLO.

Therefore, the one year ban imposed by the NLO on the player was set aside just as the 3 points and 3 goals deducted from Warinje FC was restored.

The N100,000 fine imposed on Warinje FC was also quashed and implored the NLO to always ensure due diligence in matters affecting players’ registration as the body is advised to have a centralised Database for accurate checks and balances during players’ registration.