In Abia State, two important people in football faced big trouble. Matador Ogunta, who is in charge of the referees, and Iheanacho Chukwuemeka, the secretary, were told they can’t do any football work for now. This happened because the head of Abia State Football, Rev. Obioma Onyeaghala, said so.
The decision was made clear in a letter from Rev. Obioma Onyeaghala on October 5, 2024. The letter explained that Matador and Iheanacho didn’t listen to the leaders. These leaders are former referees, and they follow the rules set by FIFA, which is like a big boss for football all over the world. The accused people changed who would referee the games without permission, and this wasn’t allowed. So, their suspension started right away and nobody knows when it will end.
On October 8, 2024, a big helper to the main boss of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mohammed Ameenu, also sent a letter. This letter said NFF won’t put up with people disrespecting their rules and workers. It stressed that state football associations, like the one in Abia, are very important in Nigeria. Because they do important work, other people have to respect them. NFF agreed with suspending Matador and Iheanacho.
Even though they’ve been suspended, Matador and Iheanacho haven’t said anything yet. But a well-known referee, who didn’t want to share his name because he’s scared it might cause him problems, spoke up. He believes Matador and Iheanacho did nothing wrong. Many referees in Abia State feel upset about what happened to Matador and Iheanacho.
“The football boss wants too much power over the referees. We might even stop working on the games,” the secret referee mentioned.