Police fire tear gas as fans stone Wikki Tourists, Enyimba players
Fans of Wikki Tourists Football Club of Bauchi on Sunday went on the rampage immediately after visiting Enyimba International FC of Aba drew goalless with the hosts.
The 2021/2022 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) match day 19 fixture had left the fans dissatisfied.
The Wikki Tourists fans, at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, threw stones and other dangerous objects to the pitch immediately the match ended.
The action meant both sets of players, referees and officials of the two teams were confined to the pitch as the situation worsened.
Security personnel then engaged the rampaging fans in a mild battle before firing teargas canisters to drive them out of the stadium. Afterwards, the teams were evacuated.
Some Wikki Tourists fans accused the referees of bad officiating.
Aliyu Saleh alleged that the referee did not ensure that the normal 90 minutes of the game ran its full course.
“The Enyimba goalkeeper wasted over seven minutes by always lying down on the pitch, and that means the referee should have given extra minutes for the match, but he refused,” said Saleh. “So, bad officiating of matches is one of the problems facing Nigerian football league.”
Another fan, Shehu Abbass, said, “We don’t trust the referee’s officiating. He sold out the match in favourites of Enyimba.”
Abubakar Danjuma, blamed the fans for overreacting.
“What is the benefit of throwing stones at players and officials of the match? With extra time or not, if the match is destined to end in a draw so shall it be. Besides, a match is a game of win or lose,” he said.
(NAN)
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