NPFL FINES WIKKI TOURISTS, MOVES HOME MATCHES FROM BAUCHI
By: Gyang Dakwo
Wikki Tourists Football Club of Bauchi has been hit with heavy fines by the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) after serious security problems during their match against Katsina United last Sunday. The league said the club failed in its duty and that players and officials were put in danger.
What should have been a normal league game quickly turned tense. The NPFL said the club did not provide enough security at the stadium, and as a result, unauthorised persons entered areas meant only for players and officials. For the league, that is a serious breach of its rules.
As the match went on, the situation became worse. Some supporters of the Bauchi club threw stones and other objects onto the pitch. That action endangered Katsina United players and match officials. The league said such behaviour damages the image of the game.
Trouble did not end there. Reports showed that match officials and an official of the away team were harassed, injured, and lost personal items. The league made it clear that a home club is responsible for the conduct of its supporters.
After reviewing the incidents, the NPFL announced several fines. Wikki were fined two million naira for failing to provide proper security. They must also pay one point five million Naira to cover medical and other costs. This includes two hundred and fifty thousand Naira for the referee’s lost whistle, two hundred and fifty thousand Naira for his treatment, and five hundred thousand Naira each for the treatment of an injured medical worker and a Katsina United official.
The club was also fined one million Naira for behaviors that could damage the image of the league, and another one million Naira for throwing dangerous objects onto the field. In addition, the NPFL imposed a two-million-Naira fine for holding match officials and the away team inside the stadium for hours after the game, and for causing an 18-minute delay before play resumed.
Beyond the fines, Wikki Tourists will no longer play their home matches in Bauchi until further notice. All their home games have been moved to the Jos Stadium.
The club has forty-eight hours from the date it received the notice to appeal the decision.
With these sanctions, the NPFL is sending a clear warning that safety and discipline must be taken seriously in Nigerian football.
