Nigerian football referees dying in silence

This week, I am sharing in the excruciating pains of my colleagues, the “gentlemen of the whistle”. This is how Nigerian football referees, with all their shortcomings, like to be addressed. Yes, they are my colleagues because I am a certified but retired football referee. I quit football refereeing the day a colleague was beaten […]

This week, I am sharing in the excruciating pains of my colleagues, the “gentlemen of the whistle”. This is how Nigerian football referees, with all their shortcomings, like to be addressed. Yes, they are my colleagues because I am a certified but retired football referee. I quit football refereeing the day a colleague was beaten to a pulp by irate fans.  After I saw blood gushing out of the victim’s eyes, ears and nose, I didn’t wait for anyone to advise me to hang my whistle.

However, I still count myself among football referees and it will remain so until the day Nigerians would stop addressing former Senators by the exalted prefix that they relished so much while in the National Assembly. Now, you know that apart from being a gentleman of the press, I am also a gentleman of the whistle.

Without any iota of doubt, referees and their assistants play very important roles in football matches. As arbiters of the game, they are expected to be on top of their game because the slightest mistake from any of them can be tragic.

Even as no human being is perfect, nobody remembers this whenever referees err. It is for this reason that they are oftentimes used as scapegoats by losers in a match. Once a club loses, the next thing is to accuse match officials of biased officiating.

Despite the risks they face in the line of duty, Nigerian football referees are hardly paid for the services they render under extremely dangerous conditions. For their troubles, they are supposed to be paid what is called indemnities to cover transportation, feeding, accommodation and other logistics.

Unfortunately, in recent seasons, the referees are usually left to moan in silence over non-payment of their entitlements. The referees association that is supposed to protect their interest is said to be hand in gloves with their oppressors.

It said that in the 2020/2021 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season, referees’ indemnities were paid for only a few matches. For the remaining weeks, referees were left on their own. They, however, continued to officiate because they too have devised their means of survival.

Let me let the cat out of the bag. Most Nigerian football referees now survive on bribes disguised as Public Relations (PR) and offered by some corrupt club officials. Once match appointments are made, club officials check the list to know referees assigned to handle their matches. The next step is to arrange “welfare packages” for them.

As a matter of fact, some of the big money spenders use “welfare” to pick points on the road. If the home team can’t come to the table with a bigger “welfare package”, the referee’s whistle is taken by the visiting club.

This is why some referees do everything, even nearly impossible things, to deliver matches. Sometimes, such referees return safely with their “loot” but the unfortunate ones have bitter tales to tell. Some are forced at gunpoint to refund what they collected, since they failed to keep to “contractual terms”.

At the risk of playing the devil’s advocate, I feel some of the unethical practices by the referees are caused by the failure of league organisers to pay their match indemnities. When they are not paid, referees are left at the mercy of some of the clubs that offer them irresistible bribes.

Other officials like Match Commissioners and Match Assessors suffer the same fate. Consequently, they also depend on the generousity of the clubs to survive. I was told of how a compromised Match Commissioner shouted down a FIFA badge referee who preached fair play to him. I learnt he told the young ref not to endanger his “alert” with ITK (I Too Know).

The referees are in dilemma because the leadership of the NRA doesn’t take it lightly with any member who remonstrates over non-payment of his entitlement. It is said, if anyone does anything to smear the image of the association, he is left in the cold.

It is against this background of heavy indebtedness that the forthcoming referees and assessors’ physical fitness and seminar in Abuja is generating heated debates. Each referee and assessor is to pay a fee of N20,000 for the seminar which begins today. Most of them are kicking but the fear of almighty NRA is the beginning of wisdom.

The whispering complaint by some of the referees is that the majority of them who spent money to attend the same seminar last season, didn’t get a single match appointment to at least recover part of their money. And even those who were lucky to be selected are among those owed by the LMC. Therefore, they are unhappy and unwilling to travel down to Abuja for another seminar.

However, after everything, the embattled referees and assessors must fall in line because participation in the seminar is mandatory for anyone who wants to be part of the new season that is hanging in the balance.

On behalf of my oppressed colleagues, I say a labourer deserves his wages.