Lobi Stars and Gombe United will play their next home games behind closed doors as stated in a statement released by the LMC as per breaches of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Rules and Framework.
The separate incidents in question happened on MatchDay 14 when Lobi and Gombe United hosted Remo Stars and Plateau United respectively.
In addition to the stadium ban, Gombe United has also been fined a total of ₦2m (₦2,000.000) for failing to provide adequate security cover for the visiting team at the end of the match as they made their trip back to their destination in Jos.
“The fine also included ₦500,000 for failure to ensure proper ticketing, crowd management and convenient allocation of seats to fans. Completing the₦2m fine is another ₦500,000 for the throwing of objects into the field of play by the club’s supporters,” as contained in the official release on http://npfl.ng
Mr. Bulus Plando, an official of Gombe United, has been banned from any NPFL MatchDay activities for eight MatchDays. Meanwhile, Plateau United was also slammed with a ₦1m fine after some encroachment onto the field of play to protest a goal scored against them in Gombe on MatchDay 14, which led to the delay of the game for six minutes.
In a related development, Lobi Stars have been penalized for failing to provide adequate security during the MatchDay 14 game against Remo Stars. Apart from the one-game stadium ban, Lobi Stars was fined a total of ₦1.5m (₦1,500,000) and has been ordered to provide adequate lighting within the stadium facilities including the tunnel leading to the dressing rooms.
Abia Warriors and General Coordinator, Mr. John Kalu were also sanctioned for security-related breaches in their match against Rivers United. Mr. Kalu was alleged to have spearheaded the harassment of the Match Officials; he was reprimanded and ordered not to be part of NPFL activities for the next eight MatchDays.
In addition, the club was fined a total of ₦2.5m (₦2,500.000) for failure to provide adequate security which led to the assault of the match officials.
Aside from the clubs, the LMC has requested that the performances of Habib Ghali and Ahmad Rabiu from Kano State Referees Council and Aguguesi Franklyn from Imo State Council be reviewed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Referees Appointment Committee over their competence to officiate any NPFL matches till further notice.
The sanctioned individuals and clubs have, 48hours upon receipt of the decisions, to respond if they accept the decisions or elect to appear before a commission.
