Warri Wolves hit with points deduction and stadium ban after assistant referee attack

Warri Wolves have been sanctioned by the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) after an assistant referee was attacked following their match against Kano Pillars.

The club has been fined a total of N4 million, ordered to compensate the injured official and had three points and three goals deducted from its tally after breaching the league’s Framework & Rules.

The incident occurred after the matchday 10 fixture at the Southern Delta University Stadium in Ozoro on Sunday.

The NPFL said Warri Wolves had failed to provide adequate security, allowing unauthorised people to enter restricted areas. It said this contributed to the assault on an assistant referee outside the stadium.

“A supporter of Warri Wolves assaulted the appointed match officials after the match, resulting in the second assistant referee sustaining an injury to his nose and bleeding,” the league body said on its official X handle.

Warri Wolves were fined N2 million for failing to provide adequate and effective security, with a further N2 million penalty imposed for the assault on the match official.

The club must also pay N250,000 in compensation to the affected assistant referee towards the treatment of the injury suffered in the incident.

In addition to the financial penalties, the NPFL ordered the deduction of three points and three goals from Warri Wolves’ accrued total for assaulting and injuring the assistant referee.

The club’s next three home matches will also be played behind closed doors.

The league has instructed Warri Wolves to identify the person responsible for the attack and submit evidence that the individual has been prosecuted.

The club has seven days to comply with that order and 48 hours from the date of notification to appeal against the sanctions.