Nigerian football referees are owed indemnities…NRA confirms

…Says it’s not unusual The Nigeria Football Referees Association (NRA), has stoutly defended the inability of the League Management Company (LMC) to pay the backlog of indemnities owed its members who officiate matches in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL). Kelechi Mejuobi who is the National Publicity Secretary of the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA), while […]

• …Says it’s not unusual

The Nigeria Football Referees Association (NRA), has stoutly defended the inability of the League Management Company (LMC) to pay the backlog of indemnities owed its members who officiate matches in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

Kelechi Mejuobi who is the National Publicity Secretary of the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA), while reacting to an opinion published in Daily Trust on Sunday, November 14, 2021, entitled ‘Nigerian football referees dying in silence’, argued that even referees who handle CAF and FIFA organised matches are owed their indemnities.

 The article in question had exposed the indebtedness of the league organisers to Nigerian football referees and how such huge debts have made the referees vulnerable to unscrupulous club officials.

However, in a press statement made available to Daily Trust, Mejuobi stated thus, “There is no hiding the fact that referees are owed match indemnities in the NPFL.

“It is important to note that similar to the fate of clubs taking part in the league who it was also learnt are yet to get their prize monies at the end of the season, members of the NRA handling the NPFL matches suffer the same fate.

“Also at the international levels, FIFA referees most times do not get their indemnities immediately after matches before CAF and FIFA clear the accumulated indemnities.”