Latest news with #NasarawaUnited
Hindustan Times
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Fan violence casts shadow over Nigerian football league
Minutes after the final whistle, Vincent Temitope, a forward with Nigerian football club Plateau United, was bleeding after suffering a horrific cut to his neck. Temitope was attacked after he had scored in the 3-2 loss away to Nasarawa United last month in the Nigeria Professional Football League . His club blamed the attack in central Nigeria on supporters of the home team, with director Yaksat Maklek saying some fans attacked him "inflicting a cut on his neck region, causing sustained bleeding". Such instances of violence are frequent in a league in which the home teams often deploy means to win at all costs. A week before Temitope was attacked, players of Lagos-based Ikorodu City were rescued from a stadium in the southwestern Nigerian city of Ibadan after earning a 1-1 draw against the home team, Shooting Stars. Match officials reportedly had to disguise themselves as policemen to evade violent fans as they tried to leave the stadium. Only a month before, Shooting Stars's goalkeeping coach John Dosu was punched by an official of a visiting team. "Desperation for victory, desperation for points, particularly for teams that want to finish amongst the top three, or teams that want to avoid a drop, is usually at the foundation of crowd violence," Toyin Ibitoye, a former spokesman for Nigeria's national football squad, the Super Eagles, told AFP. Fan violence at stadiums also festers because some clubs tacitly support the perpetrators, Ibitoye said. The result is a toxic match-day atmosphere, where fans often feel entitled to attack players and officials if results don't go their way. Players and match officials are not the only ones at risk. The police had to fire tear gas to disperse hundreds of angry fans who stormed the pitch and went on the rampage after Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. But analyst Emeka Nwani suggests that the "violence and hooliganism" are not as rampant as portrayed. Patrice Motsepe, the president of the Confederation of African Football, told journalists in Ghana last month of his "very deep and steadfast" commitment to eliminating violence in African football stadiums. "To have a single fan injured at the stadium is something that we do not want to experience under any circumstance," Motsepe said in response to a question about a recent wave of incidents across the continent. - Unscrupulous referees - The integrity of the Nigerian league is also threatened by dubious officiating, which officials are struggling to crack down on. As the current season nears its climax on May 18, league organisers are also scrambling to tackle the age-old problem of questionable officiating. Some fans accuse referees of bias or being compromised, especially in high-stakes fixtures. In a strongly-worded memo two weeks ago, the Nigerian Football Federation told referees across all tiers to be fair or face the consequences. It warned that referees found guilty of malpractice could face a 10-year ban and even be handed over to the police for "further investigation and prosecution." For many club officials, the warning was long overdue. "That's how you curb the 'mago mago' we always see at this point in the league," an official with one of the local clubs told AFP, using local slang for foul play or manipulation. - 'Cosmetic sanctions' - Despite fines and stadium bans occasionally handed down by the NPFL's board, the sanctions are often seen as merely cosmetic. Clubs are rarely held accountable beyond token punishments, and banned fans often return to stadiums undeterred. The league fined Nasarawa United six million naira after the attack on Plateau United's Temitope and ordered the club to play its remaining home games in a neighbouring state till the end of the season. Analysts believe that to counter the violence, the clubs and offending fans should face much tougher punishment. "The best sanction for me, apart from banning the fans... or banishing the club from their base, is to also deduct points," Nwani told AFP. Better officiating standards and enhanced stadium security and fan engagement could also help deter the violence, said Ibitoye, who called for "more surveillance cameras" to identify perpetrators. tba/sn/gj
Fox Sports
17-04-2025
- Health
- Fox Sports
Nigerian club, league and federation found negligent over soccer player's death
Associated Press NASARAWA, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian soccer club has been found negligent for the death of one of its players during a match five years ago. The National Industrial Court of Nigeria also found the match commissioner, the Nigerian soccer league and the federation (NFF) negligent for Chineme Martins' death, a statement by world soccer players' union FIFPRO said on Thursday. Martins collapsed and died while playing for Nasarawa United in a league match in March 2020. He was 25. The court ruling said it was 'reprehensible' that Martins was allowed to play without complete medical tests and without the provision of adequate medical facilities at Lafia Township Stadium. It has ordered the club to compensate Martins' family. 'The court has spoken and ruled that Nasarawa United, the league management company and the NFF did not take into consideration my brother's safety, health and welfare which contributed to his death,' Martins' brother Michael said. 'I hope that the appropriate medical provisions are put in place for Nigeria's footballers going forward, so that no family has to endure the pain we have suffered.' A report published on the NFF website that year highlighted that Nasarawa United had neither a medical doctor nor a physiotherapist at the game and that there was no functional ambulance at the stadium at the time of the incident. Moreover, Martins never underwent an echocardiogram at the start of each of his three seasons with the club. FIFPRO lawyers helped Martins' family to pursue the claim of negligence. ___ AP soccer: in this topic
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Nigerian club, league and federation found negligent over soccer player's death
NASARAWA, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian soccer club has been found negligent for the death of one of its players during a match five years ago. The National Industrial Court of Nigeria also found the match commissioner, the Nigerian soccer league and the federation (NFF) negligent for Chineme Martins' death, a statement by world soccer players' union FIFPRO said on Thursday. Advertisement Martins collapsed and died while playing for Nasarawa United in a league match in March 2020. He was 25. The court ruling said it was 'reprehensible' that Martins was allowed to play without complete medical tests and without the provision of adequate medical facilities at Lafia Township Stadium. It has ordered the club to compensate Martins' family. 'The court has spoken and ruled that Nasarawa United, the league management company and the NFF did not take into consideration my brother's safety, health and welfare which contributed to his death,' Martins' brother Michael said. 'I hope that the appropriate medical provisions are put in place for Nigeria's footballers going forward, so that no family has to endure the pain we have suffered.' Advertisement A report published on the NFF website that year highlighted that Nasarawa United had neither a medical doctor nor a physiotherapist at the game and that there was no functional ambulance at the stadium at the time of the incident. Moreover, Martins never underwent an echocardiogram at the start of each of his three seasons with the club. FIFPRO lawyers helped Martins' family to pursue the claim of negligence. ___ AP soccer:
Associated Press
17-04-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
Nigerian club, league and federation found negligent over soccer player's death
NASARAWA, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian soccer club has been found negligent for the death of one of its players during a match five years ago. The National Industrial Court of Nigeria also found the match commissioner, the Nigerian soccer league and the federation (NFF) negligent for Chineme Martins' death, a statement by world soccer players' union FIFPRO said on Thursday. Martins collapsed and died while playing for Nasarawa United in a league match in March 2020. He was 25. The court ruling said it was 'reprehensible' that Martins was allowed to play without complete medical tests and without the provision of adequate medical facilities at Lafia Township Stadium. It has ordered the club to compensate Martins' family. 'The court has spoken and ruled that Nasarawa United, the league management company and the NFF did not take into consideration my brother's safety, health and welfare which contributed to his death,' Martins' brother Michael said. 'I hope that the appropriate medical provisions are put in place for Nigeria's footballers going forward, so that no family has to endure the pain we have suffered.' A report published on the NFF website that year highlighted that Nasarawa United had neither a medical doctor nor a physiotherapist at the game and that there was no functional ambulance at the stadium at the time of the incident. Moreover, Martins never underwent an echocardiogram at the start of each of his three seasons with the club. FIFPRO lawyers helped Martins' family to pursue the claim of negligence. ___ AP soccer:
BBC News
25-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Uganda torchlight death of Nigerian footballer wey die for shopping mall
Police for Uganda dey investigate di death of one Nigerian professional footballer wey allegedly fall from one shopping for capital Kampala. 29 years old Abubakar Lawal fall from third floor balcony for Voicemall Shopping Arcade wia e go to visit im Tanzanian friend. Dem carry am go hospital wia dem pronounce am dead, na so police tok. Dem tok say Lawal friend Omary Naima bin leave am for her room wey be part of di mall building - and dey prepare tea before di incident happen. Lawal na striker for local team Vipers Sports Club. Dem don express sadness over di "untimely passing of our beloved player". Tributes don dey pour in for di footballer, wey don dey wit Vipers since 2022 afta e do two years play for Kigali Rwanda. For 2023 e help Vipers win di league and cup double. Di club say "Lawal (man from Sokoto) na unique pesin. E get big heart of gold. E care about pipo and dey go out of im ways to help pipo. E dey incredibly generous". "We mourn di sudden death of our ex-player Abubakar Lawal earlier today. Make God grant am eternal rest," na wetin im former Nigeria team Nasarawa United tok. "E dey had to take say you Lawal no dey again. You dey kind, talented, jolly and loving person na him you be. We go miss you forever bro," na wetin Ugandan footballer Mustafa Kizza write. Local tori pipo say di matter don bring up more questions dan answers as plenty tori dey fly unto how di player take die. Some tori pipo bin report say e die via motorcycle accident. Police say di exact circumstances of im death dey under investigation. "Authorities dey retrieve CCTV footage and dey conduct thorough interrogation to establish di exact circumstances wey surround di incident." Na so police tok. Police don retrieve some items wey belong to di deceased player including two smart phones, shoes, headsets and training kit. "Further updates go show later as di investigation dey progress," na so police add.
