The League Management Company has rescinded its decision to banish Nembe City FC to Benin city for their league match following the invasion of the pitch by its fans at Omoku Stadium, Rivers State.
The LMC had on Thursday banished Nembe to Benin with a fine of N500,000 over the invasion pitch during last Saturday’s league match against Lobi Stars.
The match was abandoned few seconds to the end of the game after the centre referee awarded a late second penalty to Lobi, who were trailing Nembe 1-2.
“We have received correspondence from Edo State Football Association informing us that they will not be able to host the matches of Nembe City,” a letter written to the club stated.
I`t added: “Consequently, the matches of Nembe City FC earlier slated for Sam Ogbemudia stadium, will be played at Omoku Stadium in Rivers State behind closed doors till further notification.
“The three matches against Crown FC of Osogbo, Gombe United and Kaduna United are to be played behind closed doors.”
The LMC said the botched match would be concluded at a neutral venue on a date preceding the 2014 Federation Cup finals.
It also said that the match would be re-started from the time it was halted and with the same result that prevailed at the time of the disruption.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, Rumson Baribote, the Proprietor of Nembe FC, welcomed the development, noting that the club did not deserve the earlier decision.
Baribote urged the LMC to properly screen the referees it commissions to officiate at league matches to avoid situations where some clubs would be favoured against others.
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