The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has directed El-Kanemi Warriors to play behind closed doors and fined the club N3. 5 million after their fans attacked Ikorodu City players and officials last weekend.
“El-Kanemi Warriors has been sanctioned by the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) for security breaches, including failure to ensure sporting conduct of their supporters during the Matchday 34 fixture against Ikorodu City,” the body announced on Tuesday.
“The sanctions range from monetary fines to an order of the stadium closure to fans for the rest of the season.”
The NPFL specified the rules broken by El-Kanemi and stated the sanctions.
“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,” it said.
“For failure to provide adequate and effective security which resulted in unauthorized persons gaining access to restricted areas and harass 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 on to the field of play while another fine of N1 million was also imposed on the club for failure to ensure the proper conduct of your supporters, which resulted in damages on the away team vehicle.
“The club is to pay a half a 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 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.”
The fans in Maiduguri went on the rampage on Sunday after El-Kanemi were held to a 1-1 draw by the visitors from Lagos.
Incidentally, Ikorodu City were also recently attacked in Ibadan by fans and officials of Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC), which led to the club being heavily punished by the NPFL.
