Club Owners of Nigeria have thrown their weights of support behind the League Management Company LMC, after a weekend of crisis in the Nigeria professional football league.
Chairman of the body, Isaac Danladi said the league organising body has done no wrong with the punishments meted out to all affected clubs after a crazy weekend that saw crisis break out in Kano and Katsina.
In Kano, the fans descended on match officials and supporters of Akwa United after the visitors piped their host by a lone goal at the Sani Abacha stadium. A similar occurrence was recorded in Katsina where Enyimba of Aba goalkeeper Fatau Dauda was reported to have attacked a ball boy during the course of play. That action infuriated the home fans who descended on the peoples elephants after the match, destroying their team bus.
There was also crisis in Sagamu where match officials, fans and journalists were assaulted after their match day 15 game.
On Tuesday, the League Management Company acted swiftly, placing heavy fines of 7.25m naira on Kano pillars among other punishments, while Katsina United were also fined 2.5m naira for their troubles. They are also to play three home games behind closed doors. Remo stars also got a fine of 2.5m naira for their troubles among other punishments.
Reacting, chairman of the club owners, Isaac Danladi have appealed to the affected clubs to take the LMC verdict as it comes for the good of the game, stressing that, the twenty league clubs must remember that, they all signed from the beginning, to always abide by the rules and regulations of the league as contained in the statutes and cannot claim ignorance now because they are on the receiving end.
He appealed to Nigeria clubs and their supporters not to always see football as do or die, saying, in this game, you win some, you lose some.
” I don’t understand how a club that drew or won away will now decide to go berserk when they lose at home. I think the clubs have a duty to educate their fans on the need to always play according to the rules. We cannot turn our league venues into war zones for visiting teams. Football is meant to be watched and enjoyed by the fans and if this kind of crisis continue to happens at match venues all the time, the fans will soon stop going to the stadium on match days and that will not be good for the image of our league he concluded”
In the same vein, Chairman of Enyimba Football Club of Aba, Felix Anyansi Agwu whose club had earlier opposed LMC verdict has made a U-turn. Mr Anyansi Agwu has now pledged his club’s continued support to the League Management Company, insisting that the Peoples Elephants have accepted in good fate, the decisions of the LMC after the game in Katsina and are always willing to play according to the rules and regulations guiding the league.
Packaged by Lanre Olabisi
