21st May, 2010
Vice chairman of the new Premier League board in Nigeria, Shehu Gusau, has declared that the massive fine imposed on Ranch Bees over the violent conduct of their fans was not targeted at pulling down the team.
Gusau told Naijaligue.blogspot.com that the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) is only out to clamp down on behaviour that is capable of bringing the game into disrepute.
Officials of Ranch Bees are said to be angry over comments credited to the NPL vice chairman in the wake of the violence in Kaduna after Sunshine Stars held Bees to a goalless draw.
But Gusau explained that his comment was never targeted at Ranch Bees as it is being perceived.
“Nobody is witch-hunting Ranch Bees. What the NPL did was to carry out investigation and sanction those that are supposed to be sanctioned. The truth is that the NPL wants to make sure that violence and crowd trouble are reduced in our league and that is what this administration is out to achieve,†he said.
In a related development, NPL Head of Competitions, Tunji Babalola, explained that the banishment of Ranch Bees was meant to serve as a deterrent to other clubs.
“It is quite bad that in spite of the plea Ranch Bees will still have to serve their punishment by playing in Calabar and there’s nothing anyone can do about it,†he said.