Blood everywhere at match venues

By Ade Ojeikere

I’m not an alarmist neither am I a prophet of doom. But blood stains are found at league venues with the organisers and their bosses casting an indulgent eye on the abnormalities in the domestic game. We don’t want to provide adequate security at venues before, during, and after games across the country. Urchins, thugs, beasts have taken over the venues to unleash mayhem on unsuspecting players, coaches, fans, and referees. What makes these unholy acts unacceptable is that the host clubs and State Football Associations are making these evil people look like spirits whereas they are known supporters of the home teams.

No person’s blood is worth being spilled at match venues before relevant changes could be reflected in the domestic league. Weekly matches are marred by violence with the culprits (hoodlums, urchins, etc) made to look like spirits due to inadequate security. Referees are beaten to a pulp regularly because the league venues don’t have close circuit televisions to track the beasts. When a referee is killed, we will constitute panels to find out how it happened, who did it, why, and how? Innocent souls will be arrested while the roughnecks will be walking the streets, free as air, with instructions from their principals not to be seen around any stadium. Of course, the noise over the dastardly act won’t last long; it will be buried with the victim whose family will be left to bear the burden of losing their loved one.

On Sunday in Jos, players of Enyimba FC of Aba was beaten groggy by fans of Plateau United for daring to hold the Jose side to a barren draw result. Enyimba’s players went home with broken heads, body injuries, and with many carrying injuries arising from the impact of sticks used to whip them like cattle as they ran away to safety. Sadly, no arrests were made. The idiots are roaming free on the streets while the victims are in severe pain. Where were the security operatives inside the stadium? Does the rule book of the league make provision for the presence of security people to prevent such violent conducts?

Whose duty is it to invite the security operatives to match venues? Or are we waiting for us to remove corpses from match venues like we have seen at Sambisa forest before we take the desired decisions to disband the organising body and stop the league until all the flaws are corrected? God forbid, if souls are lost, would these late decisions bring them back to life? No way. Why are we so cursed to always act late to issues which concern lives and properties?

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Accounts from players of Enyimba stated that the irate fans wanted to attack the referee for not awarding a perceived penalty kick in favour of Plateau United. Having failed to vent their spleen on the match officials, the urchins turned their frustrations on the People’s Elephants’ players inflicted them with injuries. It is quite encouraging that security operatives prevented the beasts from attacking the match officials. Nobody has told us how the fans were allowed into the stadium premises, knowing that fans have been banned from watching matches at league venues.

The NFF had reiterated the fact that fans were barred from the stadium when incidents of crowd violence reached a disturbing level across the country in the leagues. Why did Plateau State FA chieftains allow fans into the premises if truly there was a circular barring them by the NFF? The argument that the fans overpowered 50 security operatives is weak because the FA chiefs ought to have locked the place up after both teams trained at the match venue. If the Plateau FA locked the premises, the fans wouldn’t have invaded the pitch after overpowering the operatives.

Who was the match commissioner of this game? Didn’t he see the fans inside the stadium before allowing the match’s kick-off? If he did, what was his reaction? If the match commissioner had refused to direct the referee to start the game on grounds of fans’ presence, the irritants would have been walked out of the place. Most of the league officials have been compromised by the kind of hospitality they get from the host teams. Hence they look the other way to breaches of the league’s rules and regulations.

The fans didn’t start entering the stadium after the two teams and officials had commenced the game. Of course, the teams and their officials saw the fans inside the stadium. They also would have seen them trooping into the stadium on the streets. If this wasn’t the case, what did the match commissioner do to ensure the second half began without the fans having seen them in the first 45 minutes of the game? The story that the fans broke the fence of the stadium only to chase the referees around the pitch until the security men intervened is idiotic. How did the irate fans know that the referee ought to have sounded the whistle for a penalty when they were not inside the stadium?

Until some of the chairmen of clubs and key officials of the state host FAs are arrested and charged to court, the menace at the venues would continue unabated. These chairmen and the State FA chieftains know some of the hooligans since they reside in such cities where they wreak havoc. These heartless club officials and soccer association men constitute some of the problems with the league.

In saner climes, football albeit sports is run as a business, not the circus which our football administrators have turned it.  Club owners who depend on 100 per cent patronage from the government are threatening to seize the league from the wobbling organisers, if they fail to get the league a sponsor. Rather than call the jesters’ bluff, a meeting has been scheduled between the owners (boys of the state governors) and the NFF. No word has been heard over what happened in Jos. It won’t come as a shock if we are told that the game ended. So what happened after the game could be overlooked and culprits, if any, punished later. This is the reason for the endless mayhem at venues. Justice delayed. Pity.

According to the club owners (how much can they muster without government funding): “The meeting observed with deep concern that in the last four seasons the NPFL had no sponsors which have indirectly affected the progress of the league, it, therefore, tasked the LMC to ensure that it secures sponsorship for the League before the end of the season, otherwise the club Owners would have no other choice than to step in.” Hahahaha! They have just woken up with seven matches to the end of the season. Why can’t the owners ask for their yearly stipends (N10 million per club and they are 20) running into billion which haven’t been paid in the last three years? Do this arithmetic and ask the club owners where they hope to get sponsors when they don’t have sponsors for their matches. They drive around the country most times in buses which have gone up in flames on the highway without any warnings. Need I waste space listing vehicles conveying players which have been burnt to ashes on the highways en route honouring matches?

The owners’ communiqué also stated further that: “The Meeting condemned in strong terms the spate of violence at some league venues and enjoined the LMC to strictly apply the rules accordingly.  That state Football Association instead of clubs should be held accountable for any breach of the peace at league venues since they are responsible for the provision of security.” These club owners can’t be serious. Who do these thugs support during matches? Are the clubs’ owners not bigger than the State FA chairmen and their members? Those who beat up the referees, players, and visitors are the owners’ clubs. What have they done to fish out the urchins for punishment or are they saying they don’t know these beasts?

NFF would be foolish to sit in a meeting with these owners when they know the clubs’ financiers – the state governors. NFF should engage the governors with the problems, not these representatives who may not have seen their governors for God knows how long.

“The Club Owners after a Critical examination of the schedule provided for the 2021 Aiteo Cup, paucity of funds and congestion in the league fixtures, unanimously resolved to withdraw participation in the Aiteo cup except if otherwise provided with intervention funds.

“It further called on the NFF to immediately pay to Kano Pillars FC the outstanding prize money for the last Aiteo Cup.”

These club owners are clowns otherwise, how come chronic debtors like they are seeking outstanding payment of the Aiteo Cup be paid whereas they are still indebted to their players, coaches, and officials.

These club owners are clowns otherwise, how come chronic debtors like them are seeking the payment of Aiteo Cup’s outstanding prize money to be paid whereas they are still indebted to their players, coaches and officials.