August 18, (THEWILL) – The football coach of Cofine FC of Akwa Ibom, Remi Amadi, has been slammed with a two-year ban by the Disciplinary Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) that will preclude him from taking part in any football-related activity after being found guilty of manipulating the results of a football match.
Cofine FC plays in the National Nationwide League Division One, which was formerly referred to as Nigerian Amateur League.
The National Nationwide League Division One is the third level of domestic club football in Nigeria and was founded in 2001, currently operating 91 teams.
The ban, which will be effective from the 15th March, 2021, the date of the match-fixing, until the 14th March, 2023 was reached by the Committee in the case brought before it for hearing as Case 2 on August 16 for match-fixing allegations levelled against the coach.
Having heard the details of the case, the committee noted that Amadi admitted to having attempted to manipulate the outcome of the result of the match between Cofine FC and Bussdor FC as recorded in an audio conversation tendered as evidence against the coach.
There was enough to prove that apart from the audio evidence against Amadi, the coach also had reason to seek a certain result from the fixture as he stood to benefit if the attempted manipulation had pulled through accordingly.
On the evidence of its findings and working with the statutory rules, the punishment meted out to the coach and club were contained in an NFF Disciplinary Committee statement that read, in part: “Pursuant to the above findings, in line with Art. 4.17(1) of the NLO Rules, the NFF Disciplinary Committee hereby imposed the following sanctions.
“A Fine of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000.00) against Cofine FC for being responsible for the action and inaction of its employee (Coach Remi Amadi) in the said match manipulation.
“The result of the match between Cofine FC v. Bussdor FC played on 15th March, 2021 at University of Calabar Stadium, Cross Rivers State is hereby cancelled.
“Coach Remi Amadi is found guilty of master-minding the attempted match manipulation between Cofine FC v. Bussdor FC in a match played on 15th March, 2021 at University of Calabar Stadium, Cross Rivers State and is hereby banned for a period of two (2) years from taking part in any football related activities from the 15th March, 2021 until the 14th March, 2023.”
Although Amadi was allowed the right of appeal, it is unlikely that he will exercise the right based on the weight of the evidence against him and the findings of his part in the manipulative process.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
