NFF suspends referee over Doma United goal

The Nigeria Football Federation has suspended assistant referee Yakubu Aliyu indefinitely after ruling that his failure to apply offside guidelines and the wait-and-see protocol led to the cancellation of a valid Doma United goal against Enyimba in their Nigeria Premier Football League Matchday 3 encounter, The PUNCH reports.

Aliyu, a Jigawa-based official who served as Assistant Referee 1 in the fixture, has been stepped down from the league and all other refereeing activities.

In a letter signed by Mohammed Ameenu, Secretary of the NFF Refereeing Development Committee and Head of its Refereeing Development Unit, Aliyu was informed that his decision was considered serious enough to warrant his indefinite suspension.

The letter stated that the assistant referee “failed to observe offside situational guidelines and the wait-and-see protocol,” resulting in the cancellation of what the committee described as a “validly scored goal.”

The committee also accused the official’s decision of affecting the scoreline and outcome of the match and bringing “Refereeing and the game in Nigeria into disrepute.”

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“In the light of this, the Refereeing Development Committee resolved that you should be stepped-down, and thus delisted from the 2026/2027 list of NPFL Referees and Assistant Referees,” the letter read.

The sanction followed the controversial decision during Doma United’s 2-0 victory over Enyimba, a result which maintained the newly promoted side’s perfect start to the 2026/27 NPFL season.

Sadiq Rilwan put Doma United ahead shortly after the half-hour mark before Yusuf Fantami doubled their advantage with 20 minutes remaining to secure the Savannah Tigers’ second consecutive home victory.

Doma United have now collected nine points from their opening three matches, while Enyimba suffered their second defeat after also losing to Niger Tornadoes on the opening day.

Aliyu’s suspension is the latest disciplinary action arising from officiating in the NPFL and underlines the NFF’s willingness to sanction match officials over decisions deemed to have breached established refereeing protocols.

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