Management of the Nigerian Professional Football League Champions, Plateau United Football Club of Jos has condemned in strong terms the physical assault meted out to its players and officials by supporters of Heartland FC of Owerri and has called on the League Management Company to sanction the club to serve as deterrent to others.
DAILY POST gathered that the incident occurred after their week 17 fixture at the Dan Anyiam stadium on Monday (yesterday).
The club through its Media Officer, Albert Dakup, said the action of the Heartland supporters did not come to the team as a surprise in view of the earlier threat made by them.
Dakup who described the action as, “highly condemnable”, explained that the action of the supporters negates all basic rule of human existence in the 21 century.
While lamenting the inhuman and barbaric manner the centre referee, Yusuf Garba was manhandled by the disgruntled supporters, the Media Officer noted that, “if such trend is not properly sanctioned by the League Management Company LMC, such unacceptable acts will continue unabated”.
He disclosed that while this shameful act was being perpetrated, ” The Management of Heartland FC and the Imo State Football Association did nothing to protect the match officials, especially the centre referee, Yusuf Garba who was beaten to plump after been hit by dangerous objects”.
He further revealed that, while the match officials were receiving the beatings of their lives, “Management of Heartland FC did little or nothing to protect the players and management of Plateau United who were been chased round the field by the home supporters.
Apart from the injury inflicted on Peter Eneji, the team’s Cameraman, Jonah Dadyiam and Dan Kakwi were also assaulted and one of the team’s cameras and some officials feeding money of over N250, 000 got missing in the process.
“The Team Manager of Plateau United, Abel Iliya was not spared from the attack as he was chased by the angry supporters and lost his Samsung Galaxy x7 mobile phone in the process before he was rescued by some management of Plateau United and some security operatives who were mobilised to the stadium.
“As if that was not enough, Head Coach, Kennedy Boboye, who was also attacked by the hoodlums at the stadium, was also attacked for the second time on his way to Portharcourt by the same persons hitting him hard at the back and had to be rushed to the hospital before he was revived.
“It is interesting to note that no single person from the management of Heartland or the Imo State FA came to see Plateau United at the hotel to sympathized with them over the dastardly acts.
“If not for the timely intervention of an Assistant Commissioner of Police who led a team of his men to Plateau United’s hotel, the team would have been attacked by these hoodlums masquerading as supporters.
“The Management of Plateau United Football Club is therefore using this medium to appeal to the League Management Company to invoke the relevant section of its framework on Heartland in order to serve as a deterrent to others while those arrested should be made to face the full wrath of the law”.
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