The attack on coach Edith Agoye

IN yet another bizarre incident that cast a slur on Nigerian football, the coach of Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC), Mr. Edith Agoye, fainted after being allegedly punched in the head by an Akwa Starlets player after a match which ended in a barren draw in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on September 29. The coach was reportedly left unconscious for some minutes before he was revived by medics. It was also alleged that the match officials were severely dealt with by some players and fans. Agoye, a former striker with Shooting Stars who was appointed following the sack of coach Fatai Amoo in October last year after a poor run of form got the club relegated from the elite division, the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL), was predictably devastated by the event. While acts of violence are not alien to the Nigerian National League (NNL), the country’s lower division, last Saturday’s spectacle of a player beating the coach of a visiting team to stupor was decidedly bizarre.

The attack on coach  Agoye and the match officials is indeed a sad commentary on Nigerian football. Particularly in recent times, football in the country has been beset by myriads of challenges, including in-fighting among members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), cases of bribery and corruption, as well as infelicities such as match fixing, poor officiating and low patronage. Indeed, the fact that domestic football in the country suffers from low patronage even though Nigerians are arguably one of the most passionate football fans in the world has been a troubling issue for football administrators in the country. To say that Nigerians live and dream football would be an understatement, but they prefer to watch the European leagues, including the English Premier League, the Spanish LaLiga, the German Bundesliga and the Italian Serie A.

Yet, time was when Nigerians trooped into the stadiums in their thousands to watch the local matches. They could recite the names of the leading players in the local league off hand and were seen discussing the league with as much, if not more, passion as they demonstrate nowadays when discussing the European leagues at news-stands. However, among other factors, the biased officiating in the domestic leagues, the clash between the time schedule for the foreign and local leagues, the economic downturn in the country as well as the rather unsavoury environment in the various stadiums have combined to fuel their general lack of interest in the country’s local football. Some teams apparently never lose at home, and referees are allegedly often forced to either compromise or risk life and limb. Given the foregoing, the country’s domestic football needs everything that can be done to make it attractive, and the attack on coach Agoye and the match officials in Uyo is completely antithetical to that goal. This is why it must be thoroughly investigated and the maximum punishment meted out to the guilty parties.

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On current evidence, Coach Agoye’s attacker appears to have a killer punch. If that is the case, he would do well to consider shelving football and trying his luck in boxing. But even then, the violence featured in boxing is regulated; it is a sporting event confined to the ring and has no recognised role outside it. As a matter of fact, boxers are forbidden from visiting violence on referees and could spend jail time in addition to losing their licences if they go haywire. A footballer who decides to beat up the coach of a visiting team, for whatever reason, has no business remaining in the beautiful game. Again, whatever the match officials had done wrong, the aggrieved players and fans should have used the legitimate channels of complaint rather than allowing their muscles to rule their brains. Fortunately, the extant rules are broad and potent enough to deal with these infractions.

We urge the NNL board to treat the gruesome event in Uyo with all the seriousness that it deserves. Both players and referees deserve its protection, and should be able to discharge their duties without fear or favour. It should not only mete out punishment but take concrete steps to ensure that such bizarre incidents do not recur within its domain. In the same vein, the NFF should take more than a passing interest in the incident and ensure that justice is done and seen to be done, otherwise the country’s football would come to be treated by all people of conscience as a joke.