Nembe City Banished to Benin

Glo Premier League side Nembe City will now play their next three home matches in Benin, according to a ruling by the League Management Company (LMC) on Thursday.

The punishment comes in the wake of the abandoned Week 26 match against Lobi Stars following pitch invasions by the club’s supporters at their Krisdera Stadium home in Omoku, Rivers State.

The LMC found that the match was not concluded because fans invaded the pitch in protest of extra-time penalty awarded by the centre Referee against the hosts Nembe City.

It says it was the action of the fans that halted the progress of the game and not the protest of City players, who though triggered the incident. And also that play could not have resumed even if the disgruntled players had returned within five minutes as stipulated by the rules since the fans were still loitering the pitch.

Coupled with the aforementioned home stadium ban, City have been fined N500, 000 for the unruly conduct of its players, officials and fans.

The LMC therefore ordered that the abandoned match will be concluded at a neutral venue on a date after the 2014 Federation Cup final. The match will be re-started from the time it was halted and with the same scoreline as at time of disruption.