ZUL-HAJJ 8 1430 A.H.
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER . 25 2009.
Print This Page 
The travail of Nigerian referees
With
Sani Yusif
saniysuifmusa@yahoo.om
The word referee, means a judge or one having a function fixed by the rules of the game or sport to decide when a game will start, stop for an infringement or at the end of its stipulated time without fear or favour.
Sometimes referred to as an umpire, a referee is such an important person in any game to the point that a game can never be played without him or her.
But the failure of Nigerian referees to strickly adhere to the set rules or carry out their duties efficiently have made them to be a laughing stock in the society.
We all know that, it is the pride and aspiration of any referee or nation in the world to see himself or its citizen at the center stage of any competition especially in the regional, continental or world championships.
But here in Nigeria the story is different as our football referees have literally been dumped in the dustbins as they have never been given such an opportunity to be either in the center or at the lines of any of the above mentioned competitions.
It has reached a level where no Nigerian referee was assigned to officiate a single match in the just concluded Under-17 FIFA World Cup tagged ‘’Nigeria ‘09’’. What a shame?
Similarly, I doubt much if any Nigerian referee was among those that handled the recently concluded second round stages of CAF Confederation Competition, talkless of CAF Orange Cup Championship League.
This scenario has extended to other competitions like World Cup/ Nations Cup qualifying matches. In fact, Nigerian referees have totally been sidelined in nearly every competition organised by the custodians of soccer in Africa and its world counterpart, FIFA.
To most of us, this negative development may not be unconnected with the ways and manners Nigerian referees have been performing poorly anytime they are engaged to officiate a match be it home or otherwise.
a good point in mind is the way they messed up our league. For sometimes now, Nigeria have not produce true or genuine league winner. All we had were referee assisted league winners.
In this country, it is not enough to contract the best brain in your technical crew and recruit quality players in your team, you still have to seek referee’s help sometimes to protect your team or help it win its matches home or away.
No matter the quality players you have in your team, the men in black will shamelessly, with the aid of their whistles, kill you through the award of undeserved penalty kick or send your player(s) out just to weaken your team so that the opponent (that settled them) will take advantage and carry the day.
It is this wickedness that is boomerranging on them and the resultant effect was what happened in the just concluded FIFA under-17 World Cup and many more. What an embarrassment?
It is high time the Nigerian referees went back to the drawing board and change for the better. They should not allow this ugly incidence to reoccur again. They should try and do away with the bad eggs in their midst.
They should from now on, resist and expose any club that seeks their assistance to subdue opponents in a wrong way in any match.
A word is enough for...
