•But agree for a replay
Both Akwa United and Warri Wolves have kicked against the decision of the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) Appeal Committee order to replay their botched Week 16 Glo Premier League clash held at the Uyo Township Stadium.
The Appeal Committee had during its sitting on Friday nullified the decision of the NFF’s O&D which ruled that only the second half of the match be played while the result will still stand at 2-0 in favour of the host which led at halftime before the centre referee, Henry Ogunyamodi refused to continue the game citing security concerns and the fans’ assault.
The Appeal Committee instead ruled that the game be replayed at the Dan Anyiam Stadium,Owerri at a date to be fixed by the League Management Company(LMC) while the centre referee and the match commissioner for the match who were hitherto handed bans till the end of the season have now be referred to their committees in the NFF for appropriate sanctions.
Speaking after the verdict was given, a visibly shaken Akwa United media officer, Umem Ekoh disclosed that they were not happy at all with the outcome of the Appeals Committee’s verdict insisting that they were expecting the committee to either uphold the decision of the O&D or award the full points to the Uyo side.
He said the verdict was a miscarriage of justice and that the committee was neither fair nor just in its verdict despite their plea for fair hearing.
“Akwa United are not pleased with this outcome at all. This is not the type of judgement we were expecting. We were not the ones that stopped the match and we now find it displeasing that the Appeal Committee did not uphold the decision of the O&D and is calling for an outright full game on a neutral ground. This is not fair at all,” Ekoh told SportingLife.
While making his own view known to SportingLife, the media officer of Warri Wolves Moses Etu described the decision to order a replay as terrible and not in the interest of the club.
He stated that negative precedent had been set and that the football house is trying to bend the rules it had made on the issues relating to match abandonment.
His words:” the rules are very clear on this but somewhere along the way some people are trying to bend the rules now. A precedent is being laid. It is not in our favour and we are not happy with the decision because they have succeeded in bending the rules. Seasiders were not happy with the outcome of this decision at all. In a situation like this the rules are clear. The footage of everything that happened the LMC saw it. This is a terrible decision and it is not in our favour at all.
“But as a law abiding club, we are going to abide by the decision and we are going to go to Owerri to sort it out with them. What we are craving for is good officiating. All the LMC officials should be there to watch the match and the best referee in the land should be called to handle it. The rules are very clear and since they have succeeded in bending it like this, we are going to look at the next club to fall victim and see what they will do. A precedence has been laid. They have set aside the rules of LMC and what it says on match abandonment, and they have used another rule to decide this matter.”
Etu reasoned that the Appeals Committee has been able to bypass the LMC laid down rules and that it might be difficult for it to remain sacrosanct with a decision like this.
