Pillars, Lobi’s tales of woes

Instead of returning in a blaze of glory as anticipated by their teeming fans, the clubs came home with bags full of lamentations over inhuman treatment meted out to them by their respective opponents.The ill treatment they have alleged against their hosts wouldn’t have bothered the clubs deeply, if they were not knocked out of […]

Instead of returning in a blaze of glory as anticipated by their teeming fans, the clubs came home with bags full of lamentations over inhuman treatment meted out to them by their respective opponents.
The ill treatment they have alleged against their hosts wouldn’t have bothered the clubs deeply, if they were not knocked out of the competitions. Even if the elimination of Heartland did not come to many as a surprise, the same cannot be said of Pillars and Lobi Stars who looked good to progress in the CAF Champions League and the Confederation Cup in view of their first leg victories.
Reigning Nigeria Premier League Champions, Kano Pillars had beaten their opponents, AC Leopards of Congo DR 4-1 in Kano while Lobi Stars came back from a goal down to beat Liga Muculmana of Mozambique 3-1 in Bauchi to brighten their chances of progressing in the Confederation Cup.
Consequently, in the return leg, most football pundits believed Pillars and Lobi Stars would surmount all hurdles in their path to qualify for the group stages. Pillars boast of some of the best players in the domestic league and motivation for the team is said to be second to none in the domestic league. The same goes for Lobi Stars of Makurdi which has enjoys the unflinching support from the Benue State government.
Thus, even as they were up against desperate opponents, the two clubs jetted out of the country in high spirits. However, the end is what has baffled every football fan in the country.
Apart from Rangers of Enugu who beat Vital’O of Burundi 2-0 on aggregate to progress in the CAF Champions League, the other three clubs, Pillars, Lobi Stars and Heartland have all bowed out of the continent.
Pillars are the worst hit by this sudden change in fortune because a lot was expected from them. They won their previous preliminary matches so convincingly such that nobody had an inkling that they would be bundled out by a team they had crushed so easily in the first leg.
These clubs are crying foul and this will linger for sometimes. Kano Pillars coach Mohamed Babaganaru said the team went through hell in Brazzaville. “We saw hell in Congo, I don’t know a better word I could use to qualify the harassment we had to endure throughout our stay there. They denied us access to training facilities ahead of the game. Not to talk of the very poor officiating. They seized our camera. I have never witnessed this kind of horror in my career,” Babaganaru told MTNFootball.com
“Their fans threw missiles at our players throughout the game. They broke into our dressing room and stole all the players’ mobile phones. The stopped our fans from getting into the stadium. This was all barbaric!
“To add salt to injury, the officiating was the worst I have ever seen.
“The first goal was a clear off side. The second was a penalty and third ought not to stand. He awarded a penalty to us and our player was positioned to play it before the referee changed his mind and ruled for a goal kick.”
Pillars have since filed a petition against AC Leopards and are waiting for the outcome from the Confederation of African Football, CAF.
Lobi Stars also claimed they got the worst treatment in the hands of Liga Muculmana of Mozambique. For those who watched the first leg in Bauchi, what befell Lobi in Maputo did not come as a surprise. Their host had vowed to put them through ‘hell’ in the return leg.
Lobi Stars vice-chairman and technical adviser, Mr. Dominic Iorfa told Shot! on arrival from Maputo that his team was robbed in broad day light. He said apart from the ill treatment that was meted to them on arrival, Lobi got the worst officiating ever. He said given a level playing ground, Liga Muculmana wouldn’t have beaten his side with such a wide margin.
“We went through hell in Maputo, the former international started. “Our opponents perpetrated every evil they could conjure. They made sure they frustrated us. When we arrived the airport, they left us stranded for over seven hours. After that they took us round the town for several hours under the pretext that they were looking for accommodation for us.
“Despite all these we were determined to get a good result. We were hoping that the referees would give us a level playing field. However, when the match started, we realised we were in for trouble. My team took an early lead and that was the beginning of our ordeal in the hands of our opponents.
“The referee quickly sent off our goalkeeper and later awarded a penalty against us. Before the first half ended, seven of my players were on yellow cards. Still we held on until the 33rd minute. While we faced the referees and the players on the pitch, the hostility of the home crowd continued from the stands”.
Lobi too have since filed a petition against Muculmana to CAF and are expecting a favourable response. Heartland on their part contributed substantially to their problems and so only few people are ready to share in their troubles. Owing to change in fixtures and late arrival, the Naze millionaires from Owerri were walked over. Their tale of woes is therefore self inflicted.
Shot!’s investigation has revealed that the Nigeria Football Federation is willing to pursue the petitions  filed by the clubs in CAF. The Director of Competitions in the NFF, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi told Shot! that the three clubs had submitted their petitions to the federation and the necessary action has since been taken.
He said “We received Kano Pillars petition against AC Leopards and we have since forwarded it to CAF. We are waiting for their response. For Lobi Stars and Heartland, we have asked them to attach the necessary documents to prove their claims.
“In as much as we are ready to fight for justice on behalf of our clubs, they must be ready to furnish us with the necessary proofs. There are laid down procedures and we hope to follow their petitions diligently”.
The response from NFF may help to ameliorate the pains but what is left to be seen is how far the federation’s intervention can go. As far as the results of the matches are concerned, the trio of Pillars, Lobi Stars and Heartland are out of the continent.
For most football fans, the fate that has befallen Pillars and Lobi Stars only goes to show the extent to which Nigeria has lost grip of the politics of football on the continent. According to them, without a single representative in CAF, Nigerian clubs are like orphans.