Sunshine faces severe penalties over match fixing
Following Lobi Stars 1-1 draw with Sunshine last Thursday in a rescheduled game at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium Bauchi, Lobi Stars vice-chairman and coach, Dominic Iorfa accused Sunshine Stars of match fixing as he alleged that officials for the match were seen with an official of the Akure club in a vehicle belonging to […]
Following Lobi Stars 1-1 draw with Sunshine last Thursday in a rescheduled game at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium Bauchi, Lobi Stars vice-chairman and coach, Dominic Iorfa accused Sunshine Stars of match fixing as he alleged that officials for the match were seen with an official of the Akure club in a vehicle belonging to Ondo State government, sponsor of Sunshine on the eve of the match.
Iorfa who has since lodged a strong worded protest letter with the Nigeria Premier League told Feverpitch that he caught the match officials in the said Ondo State government vehicle with number 656A01 together with the club official whose name he gave as Divine.
He said on his way to Bauchi venue of the match, he stopped at the popular Mararaba Jos junction around 2.50pm to buy some fruits but due to lack of parking space, he asked his driver to move on and it was at that point that he caught up with the car which was stopped few meters away at a police –check point.
Iorfa said his instincts told him that something fishy was happening and when he took a closer look at the occupants of the car, he spotted the driver in Sunshine Stars apparel and other two gentlemen in sports wears.
He said he quickly alerted the security men and that was how the match officials were apprehended and compelled to take pictures with him beside the car.
According to him, the act amounts to match fixing which is a criminal just as he said he expects NPL to take drastic action against Sunshine to serve as deterrent.
He said: “The rules are clear, referees are not supposed to make any contact with the away team prior to the kick off of a match. This is a clear case of match fixing and we are waiting to see what decisions the NPL will take.
“What happened to clubs like Juventus, Marseille and recently Fernabache is an open secret. It may interest you to know that the President of Fernabache is currently serving a jail term. This is to tell you how serious any case of match fixing is handled”.
Some of the pictures which leaked to members of the sporting press who kept vigil Friday night at the aborted NPL congress in Abuja showed the two referees in question, Santus Okoro from Imo council, C.I Durunna from Abia council and Divine in different positions as they tried to dodge from the long arm of the law.
In his reaction, the General Manager of Sunshine Stars Mike Idoko told Feverpitch that Iorfa is only talking balderdash.
The former Manager of Lobi Stars said if Iorfa knows what match fixing is all about, he should be prepared to prove with enough evidence that the official and the car in question belong to Sunshine Stars FC.
“I don’t have much to say. It’s only God that knows what they are talking about. It is Lobi that will have to prove that there was an attempt to fix the match”.
Meanwhile, going by the rules of NPL, if found guilty, Sunshine Stars would face stiff penalties such as payment of a fine of N25m in addition to instant relegation to the lower division.