Sunday, 13 January 2019

2018/19 NPFL: NRA craves for conducive environment for free and fair officiating


The Nigeria Referees Association, NRA has asked all stakeholders involved in the major domestic league, the NPFL to give the referees a chance to excel in the 2018/19 which kicked off across the country on Sunday.



Making this known is the NRA President, Otunba Tade Azeez who stated that referees will continue to be fair and firm in the discharge of their duties adding that best practices in the art of refereeing will be the watchword of his members.

According to President, the listed referees have undergone the required physical fitness test and medical tests  necessary to be qualified for  match appointments.


Otunba Tade while assuring the organisers , clubs and spectators of a better officiating, requested for the needed conducive atmosphere to operate. The referees' body further asked  that the Win-at- Home mentality of clubs  should be discarded even as some Club  Owners in the habit of having some street urchins in their payroll, ostensibly employed to harass, attack and assault referees to gain favours at their home grounds admonished to have a  rethink for the Good of the Game.

While stating that club officials found to be attempting to induce referees to gain favours for matches would be exposed and  reported to the Ethics Committee of the NFF, Otunba disclosed that the NRA will not hesitate to stop honouring matches on the home ground of any team a referee was attacked this season.

The NRA president wished all participating team and match officials a fruitful outing.

In the match appointment for the Day One scheduled for Sunday, the latest referee on the FIFA list, Nurudeen Abubakar of Bauchi council was at the centre with two assistants Efozia Peter and Chukwuemeka Ihenacho. The top of the bill cracker in Kano; Pillars vs Heartland Isa M (Niger) and Ali K ( Borno) was on the lines for  FIFA referee from Lagos, Jelili Ogunmuyiwa.



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