The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Refereeing Development Committee has taken decisive action against two match officials from the Anambra Referees Council, stepping the referees down indefinitely over poor officiating during a Nationwide League One (NLO) fixture between Oisa FC and Dem Daniel FC held at the Awka Centre on Sunday, May 4, 2025.
In a statement released by the Committee, the officials were found to have made multiple decisions that contravened the Laws of the Game, significantly influencing the outcome of the match and bringing the game into disrepute.
“Such a glaring display of impunity did not only negatively affect the outcome of the match but equally brings the game to disrepute,” the statement read. “You have been stepped down indefinitely and with immediate effect from the league.”
Meanwhile, the NLO Secretariat has also taken a firm stance on a violent incident involving Sky Limit FC during their match against Dromeda FC in the ongoing league campaign. According to reports, match officials were assaulted and left in a near-death situation by Sky Limit’s technical crew and players.
Citing rule 4.13(6) of the NLO guidelines on hooliganism, the league body announced the immediate expulsion of Sky Limit FC from the 2025 season, with all previously earned points nullified and the team removed from the standings.
“In the event that it’s a zonal league, any club with violent conduct shall be expelled,” the Secretariat emphasized, adding that a detailed report has been submitted to the NFF for further disciplinary measures.
The recent developments underscore the league’s zero-tolerance policy on poor officiating and violence, as it strives to maintain the integrity and safety of Nigerian football.
Alexander-Arnold leaves Liverpool at end of season
Alexander-Arnold’s announcement that he is leaving Liverpool at the end of the season confirmed what had seemed an inevitability for months.
And even though his next destination was not mentioned in his emotional farewell video, it is an open secret that he will join his friend and England colleague Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid.
Alexander-Arnold deserves credit for clarifying his future now. He could have taken the easy way out and left Liverpool supporters hanging until after the Premier League title victory parade around the city on 26 May.
Instead, the 26-year-old has made his decision public with two home games left – the first against Arsenal, and the second on the final day against Crystal Palace, when Liverpool will lift the trophy to celebrate their 20th English league title.
It will leave him at the mercies of many Liverpool supporters who are baffled that the player they celebrate in song as “the Scouser in our team” has decided to leave his boyhood club on a free transfer.
Alexander-Arnold’s celebration of his late winner at Leicester City in April, when he ripped off his red shirt and hoisted it on a corner flag in front of Liverpool’s supporters at the King Power Stadium, prompted faint hope that he might find it impossible to leave the club he has called home for 20 years.
The truth hit home when he once more refused to discuss his future during the celebrations of that win.
He was leaving Liverpool and no amount of emotional pull on the heartstrings would change his mind.
Those emotions will be mixed in the stands and on the pitch when Alexander-Arnold plays his final game at Anfield on 25 May – but his leaving as a title winner might just ease the disappointment, and in some cases anger and bemusement, that many Liverpool followers will be feeling.
Liverpool’s fans have also have also been questioning the timing of Alexander-Arnold’s decision.
He leaves with Liverpool on a title high and well placed to challenge for the biggest domestic and European trophies for years to come, while Real Madrid looked like a team in need of renewal when they were thrashed 5-1 by Arsenal over two legs in the Champions League quarter-final
NSC praises Nigeria Wrestlers for outstanding showing at 2025 African Championships
The National Sports Commission (NSC), has congratulated Nigerian Wrestlers for their outstanding performance at the just concluded 2025 Senior Wrestling Championships held in Morocco.
Team Nigeria finished the tournament on top with a dominant display, winning 10 Gold medals, 1 silver and 1 bronze medal, having attended the Championship with a contingent of 15 Athletes.
The Nigeria Female Team emerged the overall champion for the 14th time, with nine gold medals.
And Nigeria also emerged as an African Champion for the first time in four years in men’s Wrestling when former junior international, Steve Simon Izolo, won a Gold medal, to further attest to Nigeria’s commanding strength in African Wrestling.
Chairman of the NSC, Mallam Shehu Dikko praised the Team for the excellent results in Morocco and assured them that their achievements will not go unnoticed by the Commission.
“This is another display of the resilient power of our great Country and I want to thank the athletes and their officials unbehalf of Mr President, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We are determined to ensure, based on the mandate given to us by Mr President, that all our athletes are well motivated and rewarded under a sustainable Sports ecosystem with a thriving economy. This is our focus and goal because we want to have a sustainable and transitional success plan for all our Sports,” he said.
The Director General of the NSC, Hon. Bukola Olopade, while also saluting the athletes for their performance, commended the leadership of the board of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation led by Daniel Igali.
“The success we are recording in Wrestling is not a fluke at all when you take a look at the quality and profile of the President, Daniel Igali, who has continued to transform the sport with his passion, dedication, and international network.
“We are very intentional about the welfare of our athletes and Mr President has given us all the support to ensure Nigerian athletes henceforth enjoy the dividend of putting on the Green and white colours.
“I also want to thank the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Alhaji Bashir Adewale Adeniyi ( MFR) for his Moral and financial support for Nigerian Wrestling that birthed this success. He has continued to support the growth of Nigerian Sports beyond Wrestling”, he concluded.
Kerley says arrest was down to ‘misunderstanding’
Former 100m world champion, Fred Kerley had said that he will clear his name after being arrested for what he described as a “misunderstanding”.
Kerley, 29, was reported to have been arrested for allegedly punching his former girlfriend and fellow athlete Alaysha Johnson in the face.
The two-time Olympic medallist has acknowledged there was a “physical altercation” but denied that was the reason for his arrest in Miami last Thursday.
“While there was a physical altercation, my arrest was not due to any criminal act,” Kerley wrote in a statement posted on his social media accounts.
“I chose not to speak to law enforcement without my attorney, and for that reason alone, I was booked.
“I remain fully committed to clearing my name and cooperating with appropriate parties to resolve it.
“I take full accountability for placing myself in a situation that allowed for this misunderstanding, and I am taking active steps to ensure nothing like this happens again.”
The alleged altercation occurred at a hotel in Dania Beach before Kerley had been scheduled to compete in Miami at the second Grand Slam Track meeting, which started on Friday.
Reuters and the BBC’s US partner CBS reported that Kerley had been charged with one count of “battery-touch or strike” as per the arrest report from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
CBS said Kerley appeared in court on Friday and posted a $1,000 bond before leaving jail.