Elegbeleye warns against malpractices as NPFL hits last stretch

As the 2023/2024 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), season hits the final stretch beginning from tomorrow (Sunday) with Matchday 33 fixtures, the chairman of the league board, Hon. Gbenga Elegbleye has charged the clubs and match referees to stay true to the rules of the game.

Elegbeleye urged the clubs to keep the league free of bad blood on and off the field.

“We have had a fairly great season with improvements in quality of play and standard of the teams.

“It is important that we complete the last six games devoid of controversy and unnecessary disputes capable of ridiculing the game in the eyes of the football World”, said Elegbeleye.

He also warned the referees who will be handling the remaining six matches against incompetence and bias.

“We witnessed overall fantastic officiating for most of the completed fixtures, and I want to commend the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) for the good job their members have done so far.

“The NPFL and the NFF have shown from the start of the season that there is no place for poor officiating in the league and we are not relenting as the monitoring will be intensified and any one found wanting will be delisted swiftly”, he warned.

“We are looking at ways to reward outstanding referees as a way of motivating our crop of match officials, and at the appropriate time, this will be unveiled,” Elegbeleye reiterated.

It will be recalled that after Matchday 32, the league was paused to allow Rivers United complete backlog of games that accumulated due to their involvement in the CAF Confederation Cup.

According to the re-adjusted fixtures released by the NPFL, Matchday 33 will hold on Sunday, May 26, Matchday 34 on the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, June 1 & 2, Matchday 35 falls on June 8-9, while Matchday 36 is a mid-week fixture on June 12.

Meanwhile, it is after Matchday 37 on June 16 that the NPFL will announce the date for the last matchday of the season.

Enugu Rangers, Remo Stars, Enyimba, and 3SC are the front-runners for the title.