The 2023/2024 Nigeria Premier Football League Match Day 19 fixture involving host Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan and Enyimba International ended in chaos on Sunday.
According to reports, the fans were furious and claimed the officials robbed their darling team of at least a draw, saying he refused to award a goal in the fourth minute of second half added time. The situation was some seconds before substitute Izuogu Chibueze went on to score Enyimba’s second goal.
The match officials had to be hurried out of the stadium in an ambulance as the fans broke the doors into their dressing room. They were in search of the centre referee and second assistant referee in particular, claiming the former had been involved in six away matches played by Enyimba.
Another group of fans were in search of the 3SC management officials, with a specific search for the club chairman, Babatunde Olaniyan. One of the fans said Mr Olaniyan should be blamed for not ensuring the club got “a fair deal” in match officials’ appointments.
The confused situation even led to the 3SC technical crew shunning the post-match news conference, where their Technical Adviser, Gbenga Ogunbote, had always been ever present. But, in spite of no explanation coming from the club’s Media Officer, Tosin Omojola, it was learnt that the home team were equally afraid of being attacked by their fans.
“No one is safe at this moment. We will rather stay in our dressing room until everything calms down,” a club official who asked for anonymity said. The fans had to finally vent their spleen on stadium facilities, breaking several doors and windows in the dressing rooms and the mixed zone area.
During the match, Chijioke Mbaoma gave Enyimba the lead in the 57th minute from a penalty kick. Kareem Ademola drew the home side level in the 82nd minute, while Chibueze scored the winning goal in the fifth minute of the second half’s five added minutes.