Nigerian referee changes mind over riot-provoking goal

nemi2002 · Post by **nemi2002** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:59 am

Enugu II don comot naija since, mek u be ref go put your neck for line sake of say you wan be collina, you hear.
This one no be site admin-o!
If you've been to the Jos township stadium, you won't be saying all this. The fans are plain unruly and dangerous.

RudeBoy · Post by **RudeBoy** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 12:02 pm

But wait o, the referee actually signaled a goal and pointed to the centre spot until the trouble started! After things had cooled down he signaled for a goal kick. I maintain if he felt the match could not be continued fairly he should have abandoned the game. The opportunity was there. EII and I are quite right to fell the referee should have done his job properly. He deserves to be punished appropriately!

ikwerreman · Post by **ikwerreman** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 12:24 pm

RudeBoy wrote:But wait o, the referee actually signaled a goal and pointed to the centre spot until the trouble started! After things had cooled down he signaled for a goal kick. I maintain if he felt the match could not be continued fairly he should have abandoned the game. The opportunity was there. EII and I are quite right to fell the referee should have done his job properly. He deserves to be punished appropriately!

where was the opportunity? before the game started or when it was on?
how would he have left the staduim if he decided not to continue the game?

RudeBoy · Post by **RudeBoy** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 12:30 pm

You were there. Tell me.

VINDAVE · Post by **VINDAVE** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 1:35 pm

Rudeboy, leave that thing o! the man get love one for house to remember... and he has to play cool to save his head from those Malu boyz before they take him to slaughter house... beside, who know how many head that would have followed him to the gallo if he did not make that decision just the way we heard the story.

RudeBoy · Post by **RudeBoy** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 1:38 pm

Then you have to question every single decision he has made as a ref!

Enugu II · Post by **Enugu II** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 2:00 pm

Being in Nigeria facing a mad crowd isn't going to be different from being in India or elsewhere facing a mad crowd. Please if it is then let me know. In my opinion, to absolve the referee from the fundamental responsibility of implementing the rules of the game cannot be an option. Clearly, if he felt that he could not do so then he had the option to call off the game. Why did he not exercise this option? Can someone please address that. Afterall, is that not an option that is not only provided by the FA rules but provided by FIFA as well. FIFA does not provide the option for him to unilaterally disregard the football rules. If you claim that he should disregard the rules that were so transparently written to protect him, then will you reserve the option to argue that referees in Nigeria are so inept that they are officiating to have the home team win? If you do, then should we not consider that they do that to simply protect their lives, even though it is clearly beyond the FA rules?

Yettycom · Post by **Yettycom** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 4:32 pm

All those saying the man was wrong are all yarning dust..... it's rather sad though but with the volatile nature of Jos now, half d youth carry daggers, knifes, arrows etc etc.....so i no blame d ref one bit.... he had wisdom.

so like people say, it's better to live to fight another day.... or how would it av been when u are proclaimed to av died in d course of duty especially when it is non-combatant....

furiously frank · Post by **furiously frank** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 7:13 pm

My last word on this is simple: Discretion is the best part of valor He who lives to fight another day, will live to triumph. And Chinua Achebe said cowards sometimes stand in front of the brave man's house to pint at his ruin. I am not a quitter, I am a winner, but I pick my fights with wisdom. Call me coward if you like.

2 or 3 years ago, hundreds of people lost their lives at Kumasi during one of Kotoko's league match. It was in a situation such as this. NOthing can bring back the lives of those who died then. The action of this ref rather than bring the game into disrepute has enabled the whole world to shine light on the prevailing insecurity in Naija stadia. The fact that we are not posting condolence message on this thread testify to the good decision made by that coach.

27 · Post by 27 » Thu Apr 22, 2004 7:16 pm

yettycom wrote:All those saying the man was wrong are all yarning dust..... it's rather sad though but with the volatile nature of Jos now, half d youth carry daggers, knifes, arrows etc etc.....so i no blame d ref one bit.... he had wisdom.

so like people say, it's better to live to fight another day.... or how would it av been when u are proclaimed to av died in d course of duty especially when it is non-combatant....

Arrow? Why do people bring bow and arrow to the stadium??

KoC · Post by **KoC** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 7:25 pm

27 wrote:
yettycom wrote:All those saying the man was wrong are all yarning dust..... it's rather sad though but with the volatile nature of Jos now, half d youth carry daggers, knifes, arrows etc etc.....so i no blame d ref one bit.... he had wisdom.

so like people say, it's better to live to fight another day.... or how would it av been when u are proclaimed to av died in d course of duty especially when it is non-combatant....
Arrow? Why do people bring bow and arrow to the stadium??

27,

when u go Jos go watch match, and you see them please fell free to ask.

27 · Post by 27 » Thu Apr 22, 2004 7:27 pm

27,

when u go Jos go watch match, and you see them please fell free to ask.

KickOff Chief, since you'll be going that way anyway, why don't you ask them for me? Just tell them I sent you and you should be fine.

ikwerreman · Post by **ikwerreman** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 10:02 pm

EII and Rude boy, let ,me help you guys out a bit.

When the game started there were fifty police men at the stadium, which is the bench mark requirment by the FA...
the ref started the game
at half time there was the first pitch invasion and the police could do nothing to stop them.
the fans pounced on their own coach and beat him black and blue.
their prtition was that his side could not score and he was doing nothing about it.
they were also angry that the team travelled to Lagos by air in their previous match against NPA so why couldnt they beat Dolphin who came by road.

the police watched the home fans beat the home coach and could not stop them.

it was at this point they incaded the section where the dolphins supporters club were at and you know the rest of the story.
the start of the second half was delayed about 20 minutes.

If you were the ref, would you have called off the game at this point?
the fans would kill you.
If you were the ref, at this point you would be hopin the home team scores or that you could just award a penalty to the home side so every one can be happy.
but that opportunity would not come until dolphins scored from a corner.. can you disallow a goal like that?
when the fans rushed onto the pitch after that goal, the referee was lucky this time as a detachment of about ten mobile poilce men were at the stadium then and he ran straight into their waiting arms, but his assistants were not so lucky as they wer beaten up, the Team Manager of Dolphin was also asssualted and had to be rushed to the hospital.
in all the twenty minutes this fracas lasted, the referee had the ball at the center circle insisting it was a goal.
for the fact that he allowed the restart to be from a goall kick means he saw something on that pitch we did not see...EII and rude boy, i dont care what the rules say, but if that game restarted from the center circle that referee would have been dead by now. cant you guys just understand? he had to live, didnt he?

VINDAVE · Post by **VINDAVE** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 7:00 am

Many of us here would have just the same remembering Bonboy, Baby, Darling and the cash in the bk/account.

Enugu II · Post by **Enugu II** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 4:50 pm

While it is clear that there are differing opinions on this matter, I'll reiterate that a referee has responsibilities in following FIFA rules. The referee in Jos did not do this and hopefully the FA will take action. Below, I post a recent editorial from a Nigerian newspaper. I guess the editor is still living in Nigeria and has "not lost touch" as some have insinuated that I have simply because I do not now live in Nigeria. Yet, the editor does not sing a tune different from the one that I espouse. For him, just like me, he holds the ideal of refereeing sancrosanct for the overall good of the game. Read on.

Editorial: (Culled from NewAge)
Violence in the Globacom league

Violence in the Globacom Premier League, the Nigerian national professional football league, hit a new nadir with the stabbing of Diepreye Fiberesima, the technical manager of the visiting Dolphin Football Club of Port-Harcourt in an on-field incident in Jos, Plateau State. The visitors had just scored a goal against the home side, Plateau United of Jos. Irate supporters invaded the pitch to protest what they claimed was an unfair goal. In the ensuing melee, Mr. Fiberesima was stabbed in the tummy; and with news that the home supporters freely wielded knives and cutlasses, it was a miracle indeed that Mr. Fiberesima was the only victim.

The referee of the match, Mr. Bola Bello, did not help matters. After first declaring the goal as legal, he reversed himself ten minutes later when security operatives in the stadium restored order. Perhaps, he was cowed by the rampaging crowd, and therefore sacrificed the visiting team to save his own skin. Perhaps he atoned for a genuine error. But whatever it was, he gave the impression that he was intimidated into switching his decision. That did not, in any way, edify the game of football, or the role of the referee as a firm and unbiased arbiter. The Nigerian Football Association (NFA) should probe Mr. Bello’s conduct and sanction him if he is remiss. The Jos incident was not the first reported case of violence in the on-going 2004 football season, although it is the most serious thus far. During the second set of matches, violence broke out in the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano, when supporters of the home team, Kano Pillars, who have attained certain notoriety in violence, invaded the pitch.

Coming after the Pillars’ supporters’ show of shame against Sharks Football Club of Port-Harcourt during the 2003 Coca-cola FA Cup, tongues started wagging that Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima, the NFA chairman, was protecting the club from sanctions. Alhaji Galadima has since denied such allegations. The Pillars’ management has also disowned the violent fans, claiming that they were no genuine supporters, and moved subsequent matches to the smaller Pillars Stadium, saying it could better guarantee the security of visiting teams there.

The Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan, Oyo State, has also been home to violence but targeted at the Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC), the home team. After playing a barren draw with the visiting Bendel Insurance of Benin, some irate fans descended on the coaches attached to the club, accusing them of incompetence. Ugly as that incident was, it could have been worse for many years ago, Iginewari George, younger brother of Finidi George, the former Super Eagles star, was shot dead at the nearby Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, just before an FA Cup match between Rangers International of Enugu and Stationery Stores of Lagos.

So, how can the disgraceful spectre of violence be curbed? First, the NFA has a duty to ensure that host teams provide adequate security for visiting teams. Although the NFA has always reacted by exiling teams to a neutral venue on account of their fans’ unruly behaviour, the Jos incident has shown that it is time to take tougher measures.

First, it should embark on a massive enlightenment programme to educate supporters on the barbarism of sports violence, and the dire consequences for their teams should such occur. Then it should hit hard at clubs whose fans endanger the life of visiting clubs and their officials. Besides, it should work closely with the police to fish out the particular person that did the Jos stabbing, and make sure he is prosecuted and to make the point that there is a clear difference between being a supporter and being criminally-minded. Of course, Plateau United, after the case has been thoroughly investigated, should be hammered for the murderous behaviour of its fans.

But beyond all these, the football house should ensure that only competent, bold and fair-minded referees are sent to officiate matches. Though violence should not be countenanced under any circumstance, there is nothing more annoying than a biased referee making scandalous calls. Football is a game of passion, and it is hard enough to live down a defeat, even if the referee is fair. That stresses the need for unimpeachable officiating at all matches. But this is best guaranteed by the NFA adequately funding the referees’ expenses, so that they are free from the corrupting influences of desperate club owners and officials who are bent on winning at all cost.

Good officiating is also enhanced by taking matches live on television, and it is scandalous really that, up till now, the NFA can still not come to an agreement with sponsors on the league’s television rights. With such a “closet” league, it is hardly a surprise that some club officials play yo-yo with referees in their brazen effort to swing matches their way. With live coverage, the Nigerian league stands a chance of being well marketed, and the result would be enhanced earnings for the footballers, creation of ancillary jobs and the return of local football to the golden era of the 1970s and early 1980s.

ikwerreman · Post by **ikwerreman** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 9:26 pm

just one corection, the referee was not bola bello but M.E. Jegede.
Bola Bello was the goal scorer.

and the fracas did not affect just the dolphins TM, seven Dolphins supporters were injured, one requiring stitches on his head

theYemster · Post by **theYemster** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 10:13 pm

Enugu II, the bottomline is that he did the right thing after safety was guaranteed which obviously showed it wasn't a case of dishonesty or bribery...had he not voluntarily come forward later, you would have a valid point but as it is, you don't.

What don't you understand in the fact that allowing the goal to stand or abandoning the match could've/would've resulted in him losing his life?

I doubt that you will be preapred to swap your life in exchange for upholding some sacred refereeing ideals in a poorly organized league. People like you that think there is a logical reasoning for everything are the ones that'll run the earliest and fastest when confronted with a similar situation. Jeeze, talk about hypocricy.

I support the dude 100%.

Until the FA can take more stringent measures to guarantee safety of fans, teams and officials, we are only deceiving ourselves.

Enugu II · Post by **Enugu II** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 4:48 pm

theYemster wrote:Enugu II, the bottomline is that he did the right thing after safety was guaranteed which obviously showed it wasn't a case of dishonesty or bribery...had he not voluntarily come forward later, you would have a valid point but as it is, you don't.

What don't you understand in the fact that allowing the goal to stand or abandoning the match could've/would've resulted in him losing his life?

I doubt that you will be preapred to swap your life in exchange for upholding some sacred refereeing ideals in a poorly organized league. People like you that think there is a logical reasoning for everything are the ones that'll run the earliest and fastest when confronted with a similar situation. Jeeze, talk about hypocricy.

I support the dude 100%.

Until the FA can take more stringent measures to guarantee safety of fans, teams and officials, we are only deceiving ourselves.

TheYemster:

Please focus your argument on the issues. You do not know me and thus cannot speak of what I can do and not do. Limit your scope to what you know. On deciphering what I can do, I'll assure you that you will undoubtedly score an F. If you insist, TheYemster Dude, I will hasten to say that you are one of those who criticize corruption and wrongdoing by Nigerian coaches and FA officials and I bet you will be the first one to take the bribe and look the other way under pressure as shown by your conclusion about this referee's act under pressure. What can be more hypocritical?

Now, on the issues at hand. You make a huge leap by stating that his life was saved by disallowing the goal. There is yet no evidence to that effect. For instance, the fact that the goal was disallowed by him did not prevent fan attacks. Secondly, in other cases where fans disagreed with a referee decision and meted out an attack (there are several this year) none resulted in a referee losing his life. In fact, point to one case where a referee has been killed in Nigeria (since the start of the league) because of fan mayhem? That is my challenge. If you cannot, then your leap to a conclusion that the referee would have lost his life is nothing but extremely speculative for which you cannot find any convincing support.

Would the referee have been a point of attack? Yes, he would. Would he have been killed, not likely as per previous cases. Now should he have disallowed the goal because the possibility of an attack? I say no. In NIGERIA, several referees have damned that consequence and stood up for the game. This very referee failed to do so. THat is the difference. As stated by IKMan, there were indeed a contingent of Mopol and other policemen out there in Jos. They probably had teargas as well. He could yet have called the game right and approached that very security for protection. Others have done so in the past, why not him?

No one absolves the FA but it is clear that the FA does indeed provide an avenue for the referee to call off the game if he felt the security was in adequate. THis referee failed to take that opportunity. Thus, he cannot be absolved from having bungled the game.

The referee voluntarily coming forward later merely muddies the case and, thus, the BBC conclusion that it was bizarre is in itself a perfect illustration of the value placed on the obvious conflict between matchday decision and postmatch report. Is the referee then saying that Dolphins actually won the game 1-0?

Please interprete. Alternatively, is he saying that the Jos game actually ended 0-0 or 1-0?

In any case, his postmatch report on the goal meant very little to the FA. At best it confused matters. Whether he declared it a good goal or not eventually mattered very little. Dolphins was going to be awarded the win either way because of the violence. All the referee was doing was merely saving face and perhaps a career which ought to be shortened by the FA.

Dude, that is exactly how I feel.

ikwerreman · Post by **ikwerreman** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 7:40 pm

EII,
This is a tough one, but if you ask me,i'd have done wot that ref did.
yes no ref has been killedin nigeria yet,but who wants to be the first?\
Two years ago, female ref, Bola Abidoye was beaten to pulp and stripped naked
last year at the FA Cup semis in Jos, referee Odeniran was stabbed in the thighs.

In 1992 a ref in port harcourt was beaten to coma.

Remember, it was a similar situation that resulted in the death of Finidi George's younger brother, Igenewari George when a fan of the oppossing teamshot at Rangers'bus after a challenge cup game and the bullet hit him?

these are few i can remember.

EII, i understand your persuasions,but that referree faced a mob of at least ten thousand people while you and i are at our desks typing...Hey, i dont know about you, but i would have done the same thing

Gadfly · Post by **Gadfly** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 8:01 pm

KOC,

I am really surprised at your statement below. I thought you knew the difference between a PU and a Jets supporter! Believe me, PU have very few supporters in Jos! It is the Jets fans that usually cause all the wahala for Jos stadium. Lets see, a stabbing has not occured in Jos for years with PU the only premier team from Jos but as siib as Jets are in the Premier League, there is mayhem. How come?

KickOff Chief wrote:
27 wrote:
yettycom wrote:All those saying the man was wrong are all yarning dust..... it's rather sad though but with the volatile nature of Jos now, half d youth carry daggers, knifes, arrows etc etc.....so i no blame d ref one bit.... he had wisdom.

so like people say, it's better to live to fight another day.... or how would it av been when u are proclaimed to av died in d course of duty especially when it is non-combatant....
Arrow? Why do people bring bow and arrow to the stadium??
27,

when u go Jos go watch match, and you see them please fell free to ask.

theYemster · Post by **theYemster** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 8:05 pm

Comparing apples and oranges...incompetency due to accepting bribe is different from incompetency due to fear of personal safety. One situation is voluntary while the other is forced. You can be indicted for accepting bribe to commit a crime but you would be absolved for being threatened and forced to commit a crime - ever heard of self defence? If you cannot see the difference between criticizing a ref for accepting a bribe and criticizing him for making a questionable decision in the face of threat to his personal safety, then you probably don't want to see anything. The bottomline is as soon as things calmed down and his safety was assured he fessed up.

Would the referee have been a point of attack? Yes, he would. Would he have been killed, not likely as per previous cases. Now should he have disallowed the goal because the possibility of an attack? I say no. In NIGERIA, several referees have damned that consequence and stood up for the game. This very referee failed to do so. THat is the difference. As stated by IKMan, there were indeed a contingent of Mopol and other policemen out there in Jos. They probably had teargas as well. He could yet have called the game right and approached that very security for protection. Others have done so in the past, why not him?

What a totally foolish logic...so because no referee has been killed before he should therefore assume he won't be killed in the violent melee?
I bet the people that built the Titanic didn't believe it could ever sink since it had never happened before? In case you don't know, riots differ in degree of violence...with stories of people carrying cutlasses, bows/arrows and knives to matches and yet you sit there talking crap. Go there and officiate and let's see what you will do.

You want evidence that he saved his life by disallowing the goal...let me ask you, how can this evidence be obtained? Answer: by him allowing the goal to stand and him getting killed. Would you allow yourself to die in order to prove yourself right?

BTW, I can resist accepting a bribe but I cannot risk a threat to my life...that is why I can criticize a ref for accepting a bribe.

Enugu II · Post by **Enugu II** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 8:30 pm

theYemster wrote:Comparing apples and oranges...incompetency due to accepting bribe is different from incompetency due to fear of personal safety. One situation is voluntary while the other is forced. You can be indicted for accepting bribe to commit a crime but you would be absolved for being threatened and forced to commit a crime - ever heard of self defence? If you cannot see the difference between criticizing a ref for accepting a bribe and criticizing him for making a questionable decision in the face of threat to his personal safety, then you probably don't want to see anything. The bottomline is as soon as things calmed down and his safety was assured he fessed up.

Would the referee have been a point of attack? Yes, he would. Would he have been killed, not likely as per previous cases. Now should he have disallowed the goal because the possibility of an attack? I say no. In NIGERIA, several referees have damned that consequence and stood up for the game. This very referee failed to do so. THat is the difference. As stated by IKMan, there were indeed a contingent of Mopol and other policemen out there in Jos. They probably had teargas as well. He could yet have called the game right and approached that very security for protection. Others have done so in the past, why not him?
What a totally foolish logic...so because no referee has been killed before he should therefore assume he won't be killed in the violent melee?
I bet the people that built the Titanic didn't believe it could ever sink since it had never happened before? In case you don't know, riots differ in degree of violence...with stories of people carrying cutlasses, bows/arrows and knives to matches and yet you sit there talking crap. Go there and officiate and let's see what you will do.

You want evidence that he saved his life by disallowing the goal...let me ask you, how can this evidence be obtained? Answer: by him allowing the goal to stand and him getting killed. Would you allow yourself to die in order to prove yourself right?

BTW, I can resist accepting a bribe but I cannot risk a threat to my life...that is why I can criticize a ref for accepting a bribe.

TheYemster:

Unfortunately, you have no understood what an analogy is and it's focus. Analogies do not have to be as simplistic as you suppose. The quip on corruption is an analogy that refers directly to your own behavior and focuses on the issue of hypocrisy. It would only be a fallacy if you suppose that my statement does not lead to a conclusion that it will be a hypocrisy if one criticizes bribery and then goes on to accept bribe. That indeed was the scope of the statement.

As for the logic on whether the ref would have been killed or not. In fact I find it more foolish and perhaps naive to conclude that he would have been killed simply because fans carry cutlasses and knives. Btw, how many people diesd in jos when the fans were carrying those same cutlasses and knives. In addition, is this indeed the first time that fans have carried such weapons to a game and no referee is yet to die. Therefore, it is rather absurd to conclude that the referee would have died. That is indeed a foolish conclusion for which you have advanced no support at all except to merely hang the possibility on the mere fact that fans carry weapon -- a fact that has occured several timeds before without a referee being dead. You need to advance something remotely more convincing.

As for the titanic? Have you ever heard of probabilities? No one ever said that it was impossible for the titanic to sink. They indeed thought about it based on the understanding of science at the time. Dude, even what are supposedly new conclusions are based on understanding of current events & knowledge.

Enugu II · Post by **Enugu II** » Sat Apr 24, 2004 8:45 pm

ikwerreman wrote:EII,
This is a tough one, but if you ask me,i'd have done wot that ref did.
yes no ref has been killedin nigeria yet,but who wants to be the first?\
Two years ago, female ref, Bola Abidoye was beaten to pulp and stripped naked
last year at the FA Cup semis in Jos, referee Odeniran was stabbed in the thighs.

In 1992 a ref in port harcourt was beaten to coma.

Remember, it was a similar situation that resulted in the death of Finidi George's younger brother, Igenewari George when a fan of the oppossing teamshot at Rangers'bus after a challenge cup game and the bullet hit him?

these are few i can remember.

EII, i understand your persuasions,but that referree faced a mob of at least ten thousand people while you and i are at our desks typing...Hey, i dont know about you, but i would have done the same thing

IKman:

Frankly, it is not that I misunderstand the situation. Far from it. IMO, there were two options. (1) was to call off the game, and (2) was indeed to approach the Mopol that you mentioned for protection.

I must say that in that mob of thousands there were several Jets supporters as you mentioned in your report on your website. Infact, you had written that these Jets fans may have outnumbered those of PLateau, if I recollect correctly. Furthermore, mobs are indeed mobs i.e there are just a core that lead the mayhem. The rest are usually peripheral supporters of the mob action. I say this because a properly equipped (just teargas alone) Mopol would have dispersed the mob, particularly those that were not involved in the core action. We have seen this happen with student riots and others including soccer games. I simply believe that the referee moved first to "protect his life" and damage the sanctity of the game. Whereas, it was quite possible for him to both "protect his life" as well as protect the sanctity of the game. In such circumstances, I frankly cannot see myself supporting the referes's action particularly in a situation where there were indeed options available to him. Maybe, I am too hard on the guy but IKman I really find it had to absolve him.

You know, the bigger concern is that if the referee was to go unpunished what exactly can the NFA say to referees who officiate games where the hometeam is losing and such refs decide to illegally save the hometeam from a loss and then plead "I feared for my life." What exactly should happen if we are so willing to absolve this referee? Should we simply resign ourselves to the mantra that the referee should ensure that the home team does not lose in order to "save his life."