Wikki Tourist football club have blamed poor officiating to be the rationale behind the attack on away team, Enyimba after their goalless draw in a matchday 19 fixture of the Nigeria Professional football league.
Enyimba played out a goalless draw with the Bauchi-based team and were attacked by fans at the end of the game as midfielder Cyril Olisema and other players were left on critical condition.
Wikki issued a press statement afterward claiming the incident was incited by poor officiating by Mr Shola Akanji-led officials.
Akanji who was the center referee according to Wikki had a perfect first 45 minutes as he handled proceedings well but his second-half officiating of the game went unprofessional.
Wikki Tourists recalled that the same team, Enyimba last season defeated them 2-1 in Bauchi and Remo Stars this season also recorded a peaceful victory at the same venue without any violent action by fans or officials.
But the referee after witnessing Enyimba’s goalkeeper spend eight minutes on the turf just to delay time gave no extra minutes and also accused the referee of ending the game in the 88th minute.
The League Management Company (LMC) is yet to comment on the issue and Enyimba have also not said anything about the attack in Bauchi as some players are still receiving treatment in the hospital.
