Ex-Akwa United Coach Advocates Point Deduction For Hooliganism
Former Akwa United coach Duke Udi has advocated for points deduction from erring clubs as the first step to stem violence in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) after last weekend’s hooliganism incident in Jos when Plateau United hosted Enyimba of Aba.
The incident which occurred at the New Jos Stadium ensued when some supporters of the home team were angered by the referee’s refusal to award a penalty to Plateau United. This led to the home fans venting their anger on Enyimba players, who sustained injuries in the match that ended 0-0 at regulation time.
Udi said until stiffer sanctions are imposed on erring clubs and fans, violence at league venues would continue unabated.
“Violence is part of our character and there are rules made for erring clubs, but nobody wants to follow the rules which is the bane of our society,” Udi said. “You will see an educated person who sees a one-way sign, knows he is not expected to drive through it, but he still disobeys the law.”
“A government official that should set an example for those who are his followers, will break the rules. That is the case with us in this country because everybody wants to win the league without following the set rules. I have never seen a league that has two winners”
“It is only one team that wins and the rest will end up in second, three, fourth etc. To stop violence in our league venues, we have to come hard on these erring clubs. We have to start deducting three points from these erring clubs, at least for a start,” he added.
“Not this N1 million, N2 million fine, which doesn’t work as far as the Nigerian league is concerned. It is only when we do that that everybody will sit up and start reasoning properly.”
Chidi Nwoke/The Guardian.
