Wikki Tourists became the third club in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) 2022/23 season to face points deduction for violent conduct of fans in the course of a fixture following a ruling by the league body on Tuesday.
In a Summary Jurisdiction Notice signed by Davidson Owumi the Head of Operations of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) the club faced a monetary fine totalling ₦2.5m, three points and three goals deduction and closure of their home stadium to fans for the rest of the season.
This followed a review of the findings of the official reports for the MatchDay 13 fixture between Wikki Tourists and Bayelsa United on April 9, 2023.
Wikki Tourists was found in breach of Rule B8.21, Rule C11, B13.52 and B13.18 of the NPFL Framework and Rules.
For breach of Rule B8.21, the club was fined ₦1m for failing to provide adequate security for the match officials before, during, and after the match which resulted in the assault of the match officials.
In a second charge for breach of Rule C11, Wikki Tourists was ordered to be deducted three points and three goals for assault on Match Officials by the fans.
In the third finding for breach of Rule B13.18, the club was fined ₦500,000 for failure to provide adequate security and implement effective crowd control resulting in the fans throwing objects on to the field of play, targeting Match Officials and disrupting play.
Wikki was also ordered to make a compensatory payment totaling ₦1m to the four Match Officials at ₦250,000 for each.
Wikki Tourists are required to within 48 hours and in accordance with Rule C26, communicate in writing to the IMC, submitting to the ruling or electing to be dealt with by a disciplinary Panel.