A former Chairman of the Gombe Football Association,
Alhaji Shauibu Gara Gombe has proposed prosecution for players and officials
engaged in match fixing, sports betting as an important measure to fix quality
of officiating in the domestic leagues.
Gara Gombe suggested that such players and officials,
if guilty, should be jailed without an option of fine.
“It’s so sad that players and officials at times know
the result of matches even before they are played and this does it bring
credibility to the domestic league,” said Gombe who is known for his firm
stands on issues.
He asked the football authorities to declare a state
of emergency on Refereeing in Nigeria during which Refereeing should be
professionalised by an Act of Parliament like Engineering, Medical among
others.
Gombe suggested a transition programme to be developed
for automatic retirement of referees after five years of practice be
implemented while a new programme for younger professional referees should be
encouraged.
Corporate partners and sponsors, he said, should deal
directly with the professional body of referees in Nigeria to allow for
objectivity and undue interference.
“I made a statement and I still stand by it that an
official of the home team lamented that during the outgoing season they paid
match officials N3m to win their match at home but the away team paid N5m to
win the game.
“Another instance was where a home team paid for
hotel, air tickets of an away team just for the away team to accept to lose a
match the way the home team wanted.”
Gombe lamented that the League were not interested in
investigating the incidents. He said that he expressed his concerns to Hon.
Gbenga Elegbeleye, who oversees the League but was ignored.
“It’s sad that players and officials at times know the
outcome of matches even before they are played and this does not bring credible
to the domestic league,”.
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