NPFL Fines El-Kanemi Warriors, Shuts Down Stadium To Fans
The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has imposed a ₦3.5 million penalty on El-Kanemi Warriors due to crowd disturbances during their Matchday 34 encounter with Ikorodu City in Maiduguri.
The NPFL has also mandated that their stadium remain closed to spectators for the remainder of the season.
This decision follows findings that El-Kanemi Warriors’ fans were responsible for damaging the visiting team’s vehicle and hurling objects onto the field during the game, actions deemed serious violations of the league’s code of conduct.
In a statement posted on its website on Wednesday, April 23, the NPFL confirmed the sanctions against El-Kanemi Warriors.
The statement reads, “El-Kanemi Warriors has been sanctioned by the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) for security breaches, including failure to ensure the sporting conduct of their supporters during the Matchday 34 fixture against Ikorodu City. The sanctions range from monetary fines to an order of the stadium to fans for the rest of the season.
“In a Summary Jurisdiction notice issued to the club following rowdy incidents before and at the end of the match in Maiduguri, the club was charged for breaches of Rules B13.52, C9, and B13:18 of the Frameworks and Rules of the NPFL. For failure to provide adequate and effective security, which resulted in unauthorised persons gaining access to restricted areas and harassing the match officials, the club was fined N1 million.
“El-Kanemi Warriors also got slammed with a N1 million fine for their supporters’ act of throwing objects onto the field of play, while another fine of N1 million was also imposed on the club for failure to ensure the proper conduct of their supporters, which resulted in damage to the away team’s vehicle.
“The club is to pay a half-million Naira compensation to Ikorodu City for damages to their vehicle. The last of the rulings on the incident is an order for the club to implement a more effective match-day security framework and crowd control measures, details of which must be submitted to the NPFL within seven working days of the date of this notice. In accordance with Rule C26, the club is required to through a written response, indicate acceptance of the ruling, or elect to appear before a disciplinary panel.”
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