The Nation Newspaper

Tag: referees

  • Ajimobi urges football referees to be pillars of justice, fairness

    Ajimobi urges football referees to be pillars of justice, fairness

    Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has appealed to football referees in the country to be pillars of justice through impartial officiating of matches.

    Ajimobi made the appeal at the three-day 2013 Annual General Meeting of the Nigeria (Football) Referees Association (NRA) in Ibadan on Sunday. He advised them to stop selling their conscience to the highest bidder.

    “Selling your conscience on the pitch of play will be against the transformation agenda of the Federal Government and the transformation being witnessed in the state,’’ he said.

    Ajimobi, who was represented by Mrs Kehinde Akintunde, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Sports, urged referees to be humble.

    “When a referee is humble, he will definitely be a victorious and successful person,” he said.

    Ahmed Maude, the President, NRA, described the occasion as one that enabled referees to rub minds on crucial issues and to proffer positive solutions to the challenges confronting them.

    Maude said that the appointment of Mr Peter Edibie as a FIFA referee for the just concluded African Cup of Nations and the Brazil 2014 World Cup was part of the NRA’s achievements. He appreciated the support and contributions of the Oyo State Government towards the success of the AGM and the development and growth of football in the state and Nigeria.

    “We have gone round Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State and we are delighted on the transformation of the city by your administration,’’ Maude said.

    He also commended the contribution of Mr Babatunde Olaniyan, Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly in sponsoring some of the programmes.

    Aminu Maigari, the President, Nigeria Football Association (NFA), said that the association made “tremendous input” to the development and growth of football and NRA.

    Maigari, who was represented by Mr Linus Mba, former NRA Chairman, said that the NFA had ensured the sustainability of the development and growth witnessed in recent times. He said that the NFA would support all programmes aimed at enhancing the growth and development of football in Nigeria.

    Olaniyan appealed to the football governing board, NRA and government to support the Oyo State (Football) Referees Academy. He said he established the academy to contribute to his constituency, the society and to assist the young ones in achieving their dream of becoming professional referees.

    “Twenty-one out of the prospective young referees of the academy, who are between ages eight to 12, passed the fitness test perfectly, out of 32 of them. They are qualified to write the NRA grade three examinations,” Olaniyan said.

    Awards of excellence were conferred on Gov. Ajimobi and some top dignitaries in the state.

  • AFCON 2013:CAF shuns Nigeria referees

    AFCON 2013:CAF shuns Nigeria referees

    •Edibe Peter, 20 others make linesmen list

    IT WAS an embarassing moment for Nigerian referees after CAF once again ignored them in the total 18 referees that will handle matches at the African Nations Cup finals holding in South Africa come January 19 to February 10. SportingLife gathered from the list posted on CAF that Edibe Peter Elgam was the only Nigerian that made the list of 21 linesmen. South Africa’s Daniel Bennett and Zakhele Siwela make up the experienced group as there were only two changes to the list of referees and eight new assistants from the last finals in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon one year ago. The list includes two who have refereed previous finals – Mali’s Komlan Coulibaly from 2010 in Angola and Badara Diatta of Senegal who took charge of last year’s final between Zambia and the Ivory Coast in Libreville. Coulibaly, 42, will set the record for the most finals officiated at when he takes to the pitch in South Africa. This will be his seventh tournament since he first won a call-up to the Nations Cup panel in 2002. The two new officials come from Kenya – Sylvester Kirwa – and the Seychelles – Bernard Camille. Algeria and Senegal have the biggest representation with three officials each. Algeria’s Mohamed Benouza will take charge in his fifth tournament while Diatta has also been to every finals since 2006. It will be third successive Nations Cup for Bennett and the second for Siwela. Both are also on the shortlist for the 2014 World Cup. The referees for the tournament assemble in Johannesburg on January 15 for their pre-tournament tests. They will stay at Irene Lodge in Pretoria, which is closed to the public for the duration of the tournament.