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Wikki Tourists hit with points deduction, fined N2.5m after fans assaulted referees

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1 year ago

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The Interim Management Committee (IMC) has slammed Wikki Tourists with points and goals deduction after the club fans assaulted match officials during a game against Bayelsa United.

According to a statement on Tuesday by the committee, all four match officials were assaulted during the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) game at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi, on Sunday.

Three points and three goals would also be docked from the cumulative Tourists’ performance this season as punishment.

The club was also fined N2,500,000 for failing to “provide adequate security for the match officials before, during, and after the match which resulted in the assault of the match officials”.

One million naira from the fine would be a compensatory payment to the four assaulted match officials at N250,000 for each.

The remaining home games of the club in the 2022/23 NPFL season would be played behind closed doors.

“In a Summary Jurisdiction Notice signed by Davidson Owumi the Head of Operations of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) the club faced a monetary fine totalling N2.5m, three points and three goals deduction and closure of their home stadium to fans for the rest of the season,” the statement reads.


“This followed a review of the findings of the official reports for the MatchDay 13 fixture between Wikki Tourists and Bayelsa United on April 9, 2023.


“Wikki Tourists was found in breach of Rule B8.21, Rule C11, B13.52 and B13.18 of the NPFL Framework and Rules.


“For breach of Rule B8.21, the club was fined N1 million for failing to provide adequate security for the match officials before, during, and after the match which resulted in the assault of the match officials.


“In a second charge for breach of Rule C11, Wikki Tourists was ordered to be deducted three points and three goals for assault on Match Officials by the fans.


“In the third finding for breach of Rule B13.18, the club was fined N500,000 for failure to provide adequate security and implement effective crowd control resulting in the fans throwing objects onto the field of play, targeting Match Officials and disrupting play.


“Wikki was also ordered to make a compensatory payment totalling N1m to the four Match Officials at N250,000 for each.”


Tourists are currently ninth in Group B of the NFFL abridged league with 12 points from 13 games. The points deduction would see the team drop to the base of the group.

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Iheanacho, Ndidi promoted back to EPL with Leicester City

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2 days ago

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April 27, 2024 3:14 pm

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Leicester City gained promotion back to the English Premier League (EPL) on Friday night.

The 2016 EPL champions were relegated last season. The Foxes’ promotion was confirmed following Queens Park Rangers’ 4-0 win over promotion-chasing, second-placed Leeds United.

Leeds United’s defeat means Leicester have an unassailable points haul that ensured they have picked up one of the two automatic promotion tickets.

The Midlands club earlier put their foot at the door with a 5-0 win over Southampton on Tuesday night in a match where Wilfred Ndidi, the Super Eagles of Nigeria midfielder, scored a goal.

Ndidi, who will return to the EPL with Kelechi Iheanacho, his international teammate, also congratulated the club via a post on X.

“Congratulations to me, the boys, the staff the club and the amazing fans.. 2 more to go!!! We back!! 😁,” the 27-year-old midfielder wrote.

Enzo Maresca’s team tops the championship table with 94 points and is well-placed to win an eighth championship title.

The King Power side have a four-point lead with two matches left in the 44-game season.

Leicester can now claim the championship title on Monday with a victory at Preston if third-placed Ipswich fail to beat Hull City on Saturday.

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No talks with Peseiro over Eagles return, says sports minister

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2 days ago

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April 27, 2024 10:31 am

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John Enoh, minister of sports development, says there is no ongoing negotiation to return Jose Peseiro as Super Eagles head coach.

On Thursday, there were reports that the minister had contacted Peseiro and was negotiating a potential return of the Portuguese to the helm of Nigeria’s men’s national team.

Reacting to the claims in a statement signed by Diana Mary-Nsan, his media aide, the minister described the reports as “entirely false” and “fabricated to create sensation”.

The statement added that Enoh “does not interfere or influence critical decisions of the federations” and “ensures that the federations meet the required expectations and standards in the discharge of their duties”.

Peseiro exited the Eagles role in February after leading the team to a silver medal-winning campaign at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is yet to announce a permanent replacement for the Portuguese since then.

The federation had called for public applications from interested and qualified candidates to fill the role, but little has been let out after.

On April 19, Enoh announced that a new coach would be named within the next two weeks.

Finidi George was the Eagles’ interim head coach for two international friendlies against Ghana and Mali in March.

Finidi led the Eagles to a 2-1 victory over Ghana in his first game at the helm but lost 2-0 to Mali in the second game.

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Juventus ordered to pay Ronaldo €9.7m unpaid salaries

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2 weeks ago

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April 18, 2024 10:01 am

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Juventus must pay Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo 9.7 million euros ($10.4 million) in back wages for the 2020-21 season, the Italian courts announced on Wednesday.

The Court of Arbitration, to which Ronaldo appealed, “orders Juventus Turin to pay the sum of 9,774,166.66 euros”, plus interest and procedural costs, it stated in its decision.

The sum equates to the difference between the salary actually received by Ronaldo and that which he should have received after tax and other deductions.

Ronaldo, who spent three seasons in Italy with Juventus (2018-21) before joining Manchester United (2021-22) and then the Saudi club Al Nassr, was claiming 19.5 million euros but the arbitration panel reduced that by 50 per cent.

Contacted by AFP, Juventus declined to comment, but said it would be issuing a statement “shortly”.

According to the rankings drawn up by the American business magazine Forbes, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was the world’s highest-paid sportsman in 2023, with $136 million, including $46 million in wages.

Juventus, who are listed on the stock exchange, recorded losses of 123.7 million euros in the 2022-23 financial year, which ran to the end of June, it announced in October.

No provision has been made in the accounts of Italian football’s most successful club, currently third in Serie A, for the payment of this wages backlog.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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