Chairman of the Nigeria National League (NNL), Mr. George Aluo, has praised the match officials who oversaw the Matchday 3 fixture between Sporting Supreme of Abuja and Gombe United.

 

The match, played on Friday at the Bwari Stadium in Abuja, ended in a goalless draw, but Aluo expressed satisfaction with what he described as near-perfect and impartial officiating by the centre referee, Lawal Jibrin Abdulwahab of Katsina State, and his assistants, Musa Bajaj from Niger State and Aminu Ibrahim from Katsina State.

 

Aluo emphasised that their composure, confidence, and fair judgment throughout the encounter were exemplary, urging other referees in the league to emulate their level of professionalism.

 

According to him, if NNL matches—the most important league in Nigeria—and other domestic fixtures are officiated with the same level of integrity and competence, complaints about poor officiating would drastically reduce.

 

“I want to give kudos to them for the professionalism they exhibited in handling the match. They were not intimidated by either team, nor did they allow emotions to influence their decisions. That is exactly what we expect from referees,” Aluo stated.

 

He added that all decisions made by the officials were spot-on, noting that even when Sporting Supreme’s coach protested unnecessarily, the centre referee issued a straight red card—an action that was applauded by spectators. Importantly, both teams reportedly expressed satisfaction with the officiating at the end of the match.

 

Aluo encouraged the referees to maintain their high standards, stressing that with officials of such quality, Nigerian football is bound to progress.