NPFL fines Katsina, Gombe United, Tornadoes for dress code violation, rule breaches

NPFL

The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has fined Katsina United, Gombe United and Niger Tornadoes for flouting its code during their recent games.

The sanctions are coming just a few days after the NPFL issued a practice directive to clubs on dress codes for their technical crew and players.
A Katsina United player wore a jersey that was inappropriately numbered during their matchday 11 fixture against Sporting Lagos and the NPFL said it has not only sanctioned the club but is also reporting the match officials to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for dereliction of duty in allowing the player come into the game on Sunday.

Commenting on the breaches and the sanctions, Chief Operating Officer of the NPFL, Davidson Owumi, noted that the regulatory role of the body is to identify, investigate acts that may undermine the integrity of the NPFL and impose appropriate sanctions based on the provisions of the Framework and Rules.

“Our rules have sufficiently made provisions to keep away conducts that are inimical to the overall best interest of the clubs, their players and fans.

“While we cannot stop any club or individual from certain behaviours, we definitely would not condone such misconduct and would always apply sanctions to serve as deterrence,” Owumi said.

He is particularly peeved at the case of Katsina United, which, he noted, has occurred in just over a week when the NPFL issued a practice directive on dress codes for managers and players and which was shared with match commissioners and referees.

Katsina United, Gombe United and Niger Tornadoes are three clubs that came under sanctions in the most recent tranche of regulatory enforcement announced by the NPFL on Monday after investigations into reported