Lagos – Football fans on Thursday said the N2 million fine imposed on Lagos-based MFM FC by the League Management Company (LMC) was in order and would serve as deterrent.

They spoke in Lagos against the backdrop of the team’s supporters’ encroachment on the pitch during the Match Day 23 fixture.

The encounter was between them and 3SC of Ibadan at the Agege Stadium last Saturday.

Following the trouble, the club was also ordered to identify and report the supporters who committed the act to relevant security agencies for prosecution within seven days.

Failure may lead to MFM being fined N25, 000 for each day until the culprits are apprehended and charged to court.

LMC said that the action of the fans breached its Rule B13.18 of the Framework and Rules of the NPFL.

The club’s supporters had thrown objects into and encroached on the field of play.

Rotimi Arabi, a sports columnist, said that the sanction was in accordance with the rules and regulations for the competition.

“The penalty is within the confines of the rules and regulations’ guiding the conduct of league matches in Nigeria.

“The club owners and management are already aware of this, so the LMC’s has not acted in isolation of rules guiding the games; it is an
open judgement.

“The fine and three closed door matches cannot be reduced out of sympathy for the club, either they are first time offenders or not, the
rules must be applied impartially.

“What the club needs to do now is to caution its fans and ensure adequate security within the stadium to forestall recurrence,’’
he said.

Tomiwa Adejuyigbe, said the sanction clearly shows the LMC’s impartiality in dispensing judgement on any club that breaches its rules.

“The LMC has set the records straight now by its sanction on MFM.

“This clearly shows that nobody is above the law; every club must be guided by the competition’s rules and regulations.

“It will be recalled that in Giwa FC’s case, there are insinuations of bias, but with the pendulum of sanction swinging against MFM, people should have a rethink of their allegations against LMC.

“I think we have a similar case in Giwa and MFM and the judgement meted out the same way. MFM, however, needs to call its fans to order.

“If the fans felt aggrieved about the officiating, they should allow the management of the club to take it up and not taking
laws into their hands,’’ he said.

Adejuyigbe, however, contended that the LMC had the prerogative of justice to reduce the three closed door matches on compassionate ground as the rules allow it.

“LMC may consider the reduction of the three closed door matches in case MFM appeals but it must be noted that other clubs have served same the punishment.

“The sanction against MFM is not strange, the club should serve its punishment and move on with their campaign in the league,’’ he said.

Reacting, MFM Media Officer, Olawale Quadri, said that the club had learnt lessons from the incident and was moving on.

“We have learnt a lot from the unfortunate incident and we have decided to move forward; going forward is to put measures in place to
forestall recurrence.

“Football is an emotional game, and our fans went too emotional, reacting to the outcome of the match, but then, they need to exercise
restraint in their future conduct.

“LMC has also promised to look into the alleged poor officiating by the match officials that led to the crowd trouble; I think they have been fair enough.

“The management will look into the sanction to see if there will be any appeal,’’ he said.

In a statement by LMC, made available to NAN, its Chief Operating Officer, Salihu Abubakar said that the decisions were reached after reviewing the evidence from the Match Commissioner.

It added that the Referee’s report as well as the video and photo materials was also reviewed. (NAN)