The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has issued a strong warning to referees handling Nigeria Premier Football League matches, insisting that fair and accurate officiating must be maintained throughout the season.
According to a memo sent to all NPFL clubs, the NFF Refereeing Development Committee, through Mohammed Ameenu, said the warning became necessary to protect the improvement already recorded in match officiating since the league started six weeks ago.
The memo titled “Instructions and warnings to all NPFL Referees and Assistant Referees” started by commending the referees for the prevailing good performances after six matchdays.
“The 2026/2027 NPFL season has reached an advanced stage, and we have witnessed several excellent performances from some of you while on duty,” the memo read.
”Equally, we have witnessed wrong calls, some of which are errors of judgement, while others are gross misrepresentations of the content and context of the Laws of the Game 2026 as amended.
It went on to state that it has become necessary to remind the referees of their duties, obligations, and responsibilities towards upholding the principle of equity, fairness, and standard interpretations and applications of the Laws of the Game.
“In order to ensure that matches are prosecuted without any form of negative tendencies in refereeing decisions, the NFF Acting General Secretary has further instructed the existing Monitoring Committee to deploy personnel to each match center,” the memo stated.
“…And be more vigilant in ensuring that the integrity of the NPFL matches and football generally is preserved as well as protected.”
“The Monitoring Committee is mandated to directly report actions and inactions of Match Officials to the Ag. General Secretary for appropriate actions,” the memo said.
It directed all referees and assistant referees in the ongoing season to carry out their duties diligently, truthfully, and fairly to all concerned without fear or favours.
Sounding a note of consequential official response, the memo noted that
“All referees and assistant referees are warned that anyone who disregards these instructive guidelines and acts in manners capable of bringing the integrity of the game into disrepute shall not only be dismissed from refereeing but shall equally be handed over to security agencies for prosecution for sabotage and match fixing,” the memo stated.
Packaged by Lanre Olabisi
