Feature picture: Wikki Tourist Vs. Warri Wolves
Three football fans have been arrested for throwing objects at match officials in Bauchi. The arrest was made during the match day 33 between Wikki Tourist and Rangers International which ended in a 1-1 draw.
The League Management Company, via their twitter account, stated that the suspects are to be arraigned in Court shortly. The arrested suspects were identified as Muhammed Isa 35, Hamisu Muhammed 30 and Yola Ishaya aka chara, 24, all of Wunty Street, Bauchi. Chara was identified as the one who threw an object at the second referee which led to the halting of the match in the first half. The other two were alleged to have attacked NPFL officials while being escorted out of the stadium.
Earlier the Nigeria Referees Association President Tade Azeez stated that referees may pull out of the NPFL due to the continuous assault on referees.
Various clubs have been fined for various offenses against officials mostly as a result of disruptive attitude of fans. However, violence related to football is not restricted to Nigeria as in a space of a year, the UK had to carry out about 2,000 arrests relating to football violence.