6th January, 2022
The League Management Company (LMC) has announced the immediate expulsion of Sunday Etefia, the Assistant Coach of Dakkada Football Club of Uyo.
In a statement released on Wednesday in Abuja, the LMC disclosed that this was after it concluded a preliminary investigation into the case of an assault on an assistant referee.
The organisers of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) also fined Dakkada FC a total sum of N3.5 million.
It further ordered the club to play their next three home matches at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin.
The sanctions were for the club’s breach of Rules B13.52 and C9 following incidents recorded during their Match Day 4 fixture against visiting Remo Stars of Ikenne on Sunday.
The LMC also recommended a review of the performance of the match’s officials, including the Match Commissioner, Mrs. N. Anyanwu.
This was for her failure to duly report the incident of assault on Assistant Referee Two, Sani Baba.
The league organisers noted that “curiously, the Match Commissioner identified the perpetrator as a fan whereas he was a club official”.
Also recommended for a performance review is the Match Referee, Mathew Tanimu from Plateau.
This was for his match management and failure to timely submit the match report, given the serious incident.
Etefia was indicted for assaulting Baba at the end of the fixture against Remo Stars in Uyo.
The LMC recommended to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to review the coaching license of Etefia “as he has failed the threshold to be a coach under the NFF Licence”.
It fined the club three million Naira for failure to provide adequate security in the course of the match.
Dakkada FC were also ordered to pay N250,000 each to Baba and the General Manager of Remo Stars for medical expenses and may include any additional verifiable and authenticated medical costs.
LMC ruled that the club would only be permitted to return to its home stadium “upon receipt of a satisfactory report or update on the formal report to the Police and prosecution of the official involved in the alleged assault.”
The prosecution must be authenticated by the LMC legal team and compliance unit.
The club must pay the stipulated fines within seven working days and have a two-point deduction which shall be suspended for a probationary period of the remainder of the season.
Both the club and the charged official have 48 hours from the date of the notice to submit to the summary jurisdiction or elect to face a disciplinary hearing.