NFF President Pushes For Better Refereeing Standards, Conduct
The President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Ibrahim Musa Gusau (MON), has charged Nigerian referees to make conscious and deliberate efforts to change the narratives surrounding their standards and conduct.
This statement comes amid ongoing criticism of refereeing decisions in various leagues and competitions within the country. Concerns range from sheer incompetence, flagrant disregard of the rules by some referees and blatant roguery by a few.
Speaking on Wednesday in Abuja as 30 different referees were decorated with their FIFA badges to represent Nigeria this year, Gusau reiterated that a big sore point with the NFF and the Nigeria Football fraternity was the absence of any Nigerian arbiter of any cadre at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Cote d’Ivoire.
“The absence of any Nigerian referee of whatever cadre in Cote d’Ivoire remained ‘an elephant in the room’ for most of us that were in Cote d’Ivoire,” Gusau said. “It is a real shame that we didn’t even have an assistant referee.”
“The CAF Head of Refereeing was quoted at some time saying Nigerian referees are good, but they need only the best to handle matches at major tournaments. Are we happy about that?”
“I receive complaints/videos about poor officiating in our League matches almost every week and always forward these to the Referees Committee to see that we still have some bad eggs amongst us. Some of the decisions I see are simply inexplicable.”
“You must resolve here and now to change your ways and change the narratives about Nigerian referees at home and abroad,” the NFF President added.
Gusau disclosed that the Federation has opted to come up with stiffer sanctions for erring arbiters. The impact of Gusau’s message will depend on the concrete actions taken by the NFF and the response from referees.
It remains to be seen whether this will be a turning point for Nigerian refereeing. Gusau’s message suggests that the NFF acknowledges these concerns and is committed to addressing them.
Chidi Nwoke/NFF.
