Once again, Kano Pillars have incurred the wrath of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) over breaches of the league’s Framework and Rules. This unfortunate development is not unprecedented because it is common knowledge that in almost every NPFL season, Kano Pillars are either banished from Sani Abacha Stadium or fined for offences that relate to hooliganism. Therefore, it won’t be wrong to say that the former Nigerian champions are becoming habitual lawbreakers.
In the latest incident, Pillars had suffered a narrow 0-1 loss at Nasarawa United. So, after the match, the visitors led by their most successful player and captain, Ahmed Musa, who doubles as captain of the Super Eagles, complained bitterly over what they perceived to be poor officiating that caused their week nine defeat.
Therefore, the Super Eagles’ most capped player granted a press interview in Lafia and lambasted the match referee, Dahiru Muhammed Kawo, from Adamawa and his assistant, Abdulmajid Sani Potiskum from Gombe. He also said referees in the NPFL were killing the morale of the players. Musa didn’t stop at that as he called on the league organisers to look into the problem of poor officiating, which he said is dragging the league backward.
In fact, he came close to regretting his decision to return to the NPFL. Musa concluded by saying that if the league organisers fail to tame the excesses of the referees who keep killing the joy of the players, it would ultimately discourage other players of his caliber from coming back to play in the NPFL.
Similarly, the Technical Adviser of Pillars, Usman Abdallah, vented his frustration over the way Kawo had handled the match. He also questioned why the match wasn’t broadcast live as previously scheduled by the league broadcast partners, StarTimes, without prior notice. The former Super Eagles assistant coach, therefore, joined his star player in calling for disciplinary measures against referees damaging the image of the league.
The Media Directorate of Pillars also issued a press statement amplifying the views of Musa and Abdallah. However, the behaviour of the club didn’t go down well with the league organisers who immediately reacted by applying sanctions on Pillars. Citing the relevant sections of the Framework and Rules that were breached, the NPFL fined Pillars N2m. It said N1 million was for misconduct capable of bringing the league into disrepute, and the other N1m was for failing to control the conduct of their players and officials during and after the match.
In a related development, Kano Pillars player Ugochukwu Gabriel received a nine-match ban for unruly behaviour. Additionally, the Media Directorate was warned against using unapproved channels to air the grievances of the club. However, Pillars have since appealed the summary judgement.
Except for those who are new to the NPFL and Kano Pillars, what has happened is not a surprise. As it is said in local parlance, they are regular customers. The ‘Masu gida’ boys in the past have suffered several banishments and hefty fines over such behaviour. In most cases, their acts of hooliganism were triggered by disagreements over referees’ decisions. Unfortunately, this has not only earned Pillars a bad name but landed them in the bad books of the referees who hardly forgive their offenders.
It would be recalled that in the 2019 season, the then League Management Company (LMC) announced a number of sanctions against Kano Pillars over an ugly incident involving their players and supporters. They were accused of crowd disturbance and harassment of match officials during and after the match against Enugu Rangers in the season’s Championship Playoff in Lagos.
Pillars were fined a whopping N8m, and their captain, Rabiu Ali, who led the assault on referee Adebimpe Quadri, was slammed with a 12-match ban. However, Ali’s suspension was lifted by the LMC after he served only six matches. Although the match ended in a 1-1 draw, the irate fans believed to be supporters of Pillars literally turned the Agege Township Stadium upside down.
Again, the ‘Masu gida’ boys were sanctioned by the LMC in the 2022 season when the then Chairman of the club, Alhaji Surajo Yahaya ‘Jambul’ physically assaulted assistant referee Daramola Olalekan from Ekiti State, during the week 31 rescheduled match against Dakkada at the Sani Abacha Stadium Kano.
In a match of relegation-threatened clubs, Pillars were leading 1-0, but Dakkada found the vital equaliser towards the end of the match. So, a desperate ‘Jambul’ ran into the pitch and physically attacked the assistant referee. A melee then ensued, after which the goal was disallowed. But after everything, Pillars were fined N2m for failing to ensure proper conduct of their officials, and N250,000 was awarded to the assistant referee as compensation.
The LMC also ordered for the arrest and prosecution of ‘Jambul’ by the police. In fact, the Club Owners Association instantly expelled him before he was eventually sacked by the Kano State government. But the biggest price Pillars paid for the misdemeanor was the points deduction relegation for the first time since the club was founded in 1990.
Considering how some of the referees conduct themselves once they are handed a whistle, it makes it difficult for one to keep blaming the clubs for some of their anti-sporting actions. While some of the football arbiters have improved, many of them have refused to change. If not for the fear of punitive measures from the NPFL, even in the ongoing season, we would have since witnessed so many bloodbaths due to questionable officiating. This means that despite the over-hyped improvement in officiating, there are still some transactional results.
In any case, the right thing for the clubs to do is to continue to abide by the Framework and Rules of the league. Moreover, there are approved channels for aggrieved clubs to seek redress. Therefore, anything capable of bringing the league into disrepute should be condemned. Sadly, even the league organisers are also guilty of sometimes bringing the league into disrepute by appointing incompetent referees to officiate the matches.
Personally, it is somehow disappointing that Pillars are not ready to learn from history. It is an open secret that their poor relationship with the referees contributed substantially to the relegation of the club in 2022. Even if they don’t love one another, the referees believe wholeheartedly in the saying that an injury to one is an injury to all. Therefore, once you attack one of them, you have attacked all the referees. Most times, they gang up to ensure that the club that attacked their members is relegated. They don’t forgive so easily.
So, this is exactly what Pillars should avoid. One is not saying that they should keep mute even when provoked with poor officiating, but they must learn to follow the channels when demanding justice. Thank God, in Lafia, their travelling fans didn’t invade the pitch to unleash mayhem like they did at the Agege Township Stadium in 2019.
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