How the LMC can protect their league from bad officiating

By ADEPOJU TOBI

The NPFL is LMC business and the Company can't continue to watch as officiating continues to ruined their business after every matchday.

Yes, the NRA trained the referees while the NFF appoint referees for league matches but the LMC pay their indemnities, without the LMC these referees can't earned money from officiating.

The NRA has successful trained Excellent and Bad referees, while the NFF have got to appoint referees from this poll of Excellent and Bad referees.

LMC have got control of their business and they can actually curb this poison on the league, If they are ready and bold to save the league from bad officiating.

The major problem about this officiating is that we have got large poll of referees. Solution is that we must reduce the numbers. We need top and firm referees for league matches.

LMC should request for the FIFA badge referees and top elites referees to officiate NPFL Matches. With this, it will be easy to track the performance of the referees weekly and the world attention would be on them.

A top FIFA badge referees won't just misbehave. A top elite referees waiting to be badge as FIFA graded referee won't kill his ambition. Referees are humans and we can actually define errors and a deliberate act.

In the EPL not sure the referees that usually officiated the 380 EPL matches are up to 100. In the NPFL we have poll of over 400 referees.

A referee might officiated just three matches all season, he doesn't have a job and expectedly he want to be rich with those few games.

Another thing, LMC can set up their own independent committee with honest retired referees to review referees performance every week. Any referees found guilty should be punish and the names should be publish. This information helps the media and fans to track the records of the suspended referees and their errors. Top referees got demoted and punished in the EPL and this decisions are not hidden.

The moment LMC stopped publishing the suspended referees I knew the Company has accepted not to help the league. No matter who the referee is, the moment he got punished, it should be publish for posterity sake and also for him/her to wake up.

Like I said earlier, LMC can't continue to act as if this problems are beyond them when we can actually find a way to curb the problems.

Look at this below. These are the FIFA badge referees and the top elite referees in Nigeria recently invited for FIFA fitness test.

PRESS RELEASE

NIGERIA REFEREES TAKE PART IN 2017 FIFA MEMBER ASSOCIATION ELITE REFEREES COURSE, REFEREE ASSESSORS COURSE AND 2ND QUARTER FITNESS TEST FOR PREMIER LEAGUE REFEREES IN ABUJA.

FIFA REFEREES [MEN]                                  

1. Adebimpe Quadri Ololade REF

2. Ago Abubakar               REF

3. Basheer Salihu                  REF

4. Benjamin Odey              REF

5. Abdullahi Shuaibu              REF

6. Ferdinand A. Udoh        REF

7. Ogabor Joseph      REF

FIFA ASSISTANT REFEREES [MEN]

8. Abel Baba                        AR

9. Digbori Tejiri                         AR

10. Igudia Efosa Celestine      AR

11. Peter Ogwu Eigege             AR

12. Samuel Pwadutakam        AR

13. Usman Isah                     AR

14. Usman Abdulmajid     AR

FIFA REFEREES [WOMEN]

15. Ajayi Foluso Adewuyi                    REF

16. Hadiza Musa                           REF

17. Hannah Elaigwu                 REF

FIFA ASSISTANT REFEREES [WOMEN]

18. Obile Felicia Obile                          AR

19.  Iyorhe Mimisen A.                 AR

20. Momoh Bosede Adijat         AR

21.  Nkwocha U Hulda                      AR

SOME OTHER NATIONAL ELITE REFEREES / ARS

1. Habibu Ghali 23 REF

2. Kabiru M.Haruna 26 AR

3. Salihu B. Salihu 31 AR

4. Umar Mohammed 29 REF

5. Nura Abubakar 24 REF

6. Sani Ibrahim       30  REF

7. Nwhite Thomas O         30 REF

8. Eze Chikaodili Edwin 27 AR

9. Arinze Victor             26 REF

10. Felagha A. Johnbull 28 AR

11. Igho Hope     23 REF

12. Datom Hassan Y   29 REF

13. Dauda Hassan.           30 AR

14. Jonathan Zakaria  29 REF

15. Haruna Shuaibu.         28 AR

16. Marwan Bala  29 REF

17. Olaleke Olawale O.  29 AR

18. Moses Ojo Bamidele 30 AR

19. Zubairu Abubakar 23 REF

20. Olayinka Olajide  33 REF

21. Afolabi Maroof 32 REF

22. Oladoja Muyiwa          28 AR

23. Abdullahi Abubakar 19 REF

24. Eunice U Amallam   32 REF

25. Ndidi Patience Madu. 29 REF

26. Joy Ogunboye       28 REF

27. Serah Godwin   21  AR

28. Balikisu Ibrahim            25 AR

29. Odedde Onoruoghe.    25 AR

30. Julia Ekpe Essien   28 AR

31. Ruth Okafor           27 REF

32. Peace Ikerebe   24 REF

FIFA badge referees are 21.

Elite referees are 31.

Total: 52 referees.

We can get the best officiating from this simple numbers. It's also easy for us to track their records weekly with video evidence.

Unless, we reduce the numbers and appoint top referees for our NPFL matches with adequate monitoring from the LMC who pays the indemnities of the referees, then we will be here forever.

Don't tell me LMC can't request for a sizeable numbers of 80-100 referees to officiate their 380 matches.

On security, the State FA's seems not sure if they can help the League.

The LMC have got access to the top security agencies Oga. Can the LMC partner them to give adequate security for our referees at match venue? Can the LMC set up their own private security at the 20 stadia?

Sometimes, the environment gives room for referees to misbehave when they are not sure of their lives.

If the LMC can reduce the numbers and work with the top FIFA badge and Elite referees, create an enabling environment for the referees to officiate freely and go home safe. Then, we won't entertain any form of excuses from the referees rather than punish any referees who couldn't manage the game professionally and also publish the punishment.

By then, LMC can be sure all referees are safe and we can actually review the referees performance without prejudice.

This is the solution, I think!