The Nigeria Premier Football League has fined Shooting Stars ₦5 million and barred fans from their stadium for the rest of the season following an attack on Ikorodu City’s entourage
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) board has imposed a hefty fine of ₦5 million on Shooting Stars Sports Club following the violent attack by their fans on the players and officials of Ikorodu City FC at the Lekan Salami stadium in Ibadan.
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The incident occurred on Sunday after a goalless draw between Shooting Stars and Ikorodu City. Players and officials of the visiting team required intervention from Nigerian Army operatives to safely exit the stadium amidst the hostility of the home fans.
Freelanews reported that the Ikorodu City contingent was effectively held hostage within the stadium premises to shield them from the irate Shooting Stars supporters who had gathered outside.
According to Samuel Bamisebi, the media and communication director for Ikorodu City, the away team was “locked inside the stadium to prevent the angry fans outside from coming inside”.
He further stated that some enraged 3SC fans also caused damage to one of the buses that transported Ikorodu City supporters from Lagos to Ibadan for the derby match.
In a strongly worded statement released on Wednesday, the NPFL announced that Shooting Stars “was found guilty of all three counts for failure to provide adequate security, failure to ensure proper conduct of their supporters resulting in attack on the opponents and throwing of objects to the field of play and the referees”.
Consequently, the league body has fined Shooting Stars ₦1 million for each of the three charges, totaling ₦3 million.
Additionally, the club has been ordered to pay an extra ₦2 million as compensation for the damage inflicted on the Ikorodu City team bus.
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In a further punitive measure, the NPFL has ordered the immediate closure of the Lekan Salami stadium to all fans for the remainder of the current football season.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
