Referee Involved in the Disgraceful NNL Handball Goal Banned

Femi Solaja

Referee Zaharadeen Nasiru who allowed an obvious handball goal scored by a Jigawa Golden Stars player to stand against Sporting Supreme in one of the Nigeria National League (NNL) matches at the weekend has been banned from further officiating.

Video footage of the match went viral on Saturday night, showing an unconventional goal as Jigawa Golden Stars players resorted to using their bare hands to score. The referee allowed the goal to stand. Jigawa Golden Stars won that match 2-1 .

In the footage, a cross into Sporting Supreme’s box was handballed twice, leading to a goal being awarded instead of a foul being called by the referee.

The incident sparked debate within the Nigerian football community, raising concerns about the officiating standards and the reason Nigerian referees are not regularly selected for international competitions in the continent and at global tournaments.

In response to the controversy, the Nigeria Football Federation Refereeing Development Committee Unit took swift action by expelling Referee Nasiru from the league and refereeing in general. It cited the incident as detrimental to the reputation of refereeing and the game in Nigeria.

In the letter handed out to the referee which was leaked to the sporting press, Nasir was expelled.

“Given the serious nature of the decisions taken in your week 17 match involving Jigawa Golden Stars FC and Sporting Supreme FC played in Dutse wherein your actions brought Refereeing and the game in Nigeria into disrepute, I am directed to notify you that you have been expelled with immediate effect from the league and refereeing generally.”

Despite the controversy, Sporting Supreme remains in second place in their group with 19 points, while Jigawa Golden Stars sit fifth with 14 points.

RESULTS

NPFL

Heartland 3-1 Sporting

Katsina Utd 4-3 Rangers

Kwara Utd 1-1 Insurance

Lobi Stars 1-0 Enyimba

Tornadoes 5-0 Gombe

Sunshine 1-1 Bayelsa

Premier League

Man Utd 2-2 Liverpool

Sheffield 2-2 Chelsea