By Peter Uwumarogie
The Match Day 23 fixture between Adamawa United Football Club of Yola and Warri Wolves in the 2019/2020 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) was abandoned on Sunday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the match played at the Pantami Stadium in Gombe was abandoned after an assault on match officials.
The attack came immediately the centre referee ended the match’s first half.
Warri Wolves were leading by a lone goal scored by Abu Azeez in the 21st minute of the match when fans of the home team ran into the field of play.
One of the fans attacked the centre referee with a catapult while others hit him with their fist before policemen quickly intervened, pushing back the fans from the field of play.
The match officials and the match’s referees assessor who rushed into the field of play were quickly surrounded by policemen to protect them.
The officials were confined to the centre of the pitch, where they were making calls, ostensibly to give situation reports to officials of the Abuja-based League Management Company (LMC).
NAN also reports that after waiting for over 70 minutes on the field of play, two police vans later drove into the field of play to convey the officials out of the stadium.
Warri Wolves’ team bus was also driven into the field of play to take away the visiting team and their officials under heavy security escort.
Journalists, especially cameramen, were also attacked by the fans who made attempts to destroy video and other recordings of the development.(NAN)
