Former Flying Eagles defender, Waidi Akanni, on Tuesday said the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) should ensure that it used its position to make the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) credible.

Referees

Akanni made the assertion in an interview in Lagos.

Akanni, a member of the 1985 bronze winning squad at the U-20 FIFA World Youth Championship in Moscow, said that the second stanza of the 2016/2017 NPFL should be devoid of bad officiating.

“Look at the first match of this season between FC Ifeanyi Uba and Kano Pillars, the match was abandoned by the Uba boys.

“This shouldn’t be happening with the caliber of League Management Company officials at that match, this goes to show that a lot still needs to be done.

“The LMC should not relent, sanctions should be meted out as it should; human error is inevitable but it should be at the barest minimum.

“The NRA needs to undergo reform, the future of NPFL rests on their shoulders because bad officiating can kill the morale of these players, and there is no league without the players,’’ he said.

The former defender, tthat one of the issues that should be addressed before the second stanza kicks of is the condition of the playing turfs of clubs.

“At times, when you see some pitch, even on television you can see the deplorable state in which these players play.

“The LMC needs to start sanctioning clubs that do not have standard pitch, these are the little things that clubs should put into consideration before the season kicks off,’’ the former Lagos State FA Chairman said.

Akanni, who played for National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) FC of Lagos, said the maintenance of the stadium in which the matches were played would encourage viewers to come to the stadium.

“Nobody will leave the comfort of his homes to watch a football match in a shabby stadium; the more, they say, the merrier; we need to make our playing turfs attractive.

“You don’t want to start looking for clean toilets when you are pressed during a match, all these things should be put in place.

“The first impression a football scout may get when he sees a half-empty stadium is that the team is not interesting to watch, that’s why their fans are not out to support them.

“All these things work together, the LMC have shown that they have what it takes to reform this league, but these are the areas I will advise they look into,’’ Akanni said.