The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), under the faction of Chris Giwa, has described as “totally untrue” that league matches in the country has been put on hold following a statement from the referees association.
Giwa was particular about the Glo Premier League, a tier in which he owns a club, Giwa FC. He stated that the League Management Company (LMC), which runs the top flight in Nigeria, cannot issue notices to clubs in the Premier League that matches are being suspended from this weekend without informing the NFF board that he presides over.
“It has come to our notice that the League Management Company has been issuing notices to clubs in the Premier League that matches are being suspended from this weekend.
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“This is totally untrue. If the LMC received a notice from the Nigeria Referees Association about a purported withdrawal of referees, the LMC should have brought this to the notice of the NFF and not taken a decision to suspend the League on its own,” Giwa, whose election into office as a president of the football federation in Nigeria is being disputed, said on Thursday.
“As the owners of the League, the Nigeria Football Federation is hereby making it clear that Premier League matches are not being suspended. Matches scheduled for this weekend will definitely take place.”
In reaction to Giwa’s statement, the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) president, Ahmed Maude, told supersport.com that the referees pulled out of all tiers of the leagues since they were unsure of their safety following the crisis rocking the governance of the country’s football.
“It is unfortunate we had to withdraw our men from taking charge of any matches, but we deem this decision fit in the wake of the crisis that has befallen our football. We have followed the events of the past days, and we are unconvinced that with the present situation the safety of our men can be guaranteed in the midst of the crisis.
“On one hand, we have the state FA chairmen in one of the NFF and in the other hand, we have a new president. So that means we do not have one house. So we are urging all stakeholders to embrace peace so that football can move on and our men will return,” said Maude told supersport.com. (supersport.com)
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