Nigeria, May 31, 2016 – Chairman Abia Warriors Football Club of Umuahia, Chief Emeka Inyama has described as mischievous and misleading, a report credited to him in one of Nigeria’s respected all-sports National tabloids, where he was quoted as saying that Referees are killing the Nigerian League.
INYAMA: I DIDN’T CRITICIZE REFEREES
Chief Inyama who angrily reacted to the publication, questioned the authenticity of the story since the so called reporter could neither state where nor when the interview took place.
“You can see that this story was simply fabricated to tarnish my image. That is why it is not credited to anybody and the so-called reporter who hid his name could not state when or where the interview took place. In the first place, I never granted any interview to anybody concerning officiating of the Nigerian Professional Football League. So, this is just an imagination of the writer”, he clarified.
Chief Inyama said having been in the business of football administration for more than two decades, he is aware of the vast improvement in the officiating of the Nigerian League as demonstrated with the fact that teams can now win, draw or lose at any venue even at home.
“Even the worst critic would admit the good work the League Management Company has done in the last couple of years. The positive changes and innovations have made the teams to be more confident that they can get good result at any venue if they played well and it is what makes the league thick”, the Abia Warriors Chairman said.
Chief Inyama, who disclosed that he has always been an architect of good and fair officiating, called on the various sports editors to ensure they verify sources of stories filed by their reporters before publication in order not to bring the image of their organization into disrepute.