Suspended Kano Pillars captain, Rabiu Ali has expressed regrets for his unruly actions that led to his being banned from 12 games of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

The former champions, Pillars will start the new season with a fixture in Kano against Rivers United without Ali, who is serving suspension following his angry confrontation with a referee in a 2018/19 NPFL Championships Playoff against Rangers International in June.

His conduct was adjudged to have instigated the Kano Pillars fans to encroach the pitch, which subsequently attracted a 12 match ban for the Pillars Skippo.

Ali in an interview with NPFL website expressed regrets for his action on that day which led to his suspension, revealing that it has been troubling his mind since then.

“My wish is to turn back the hand of the clock and every wrong scenario will be revised for good. I am sincerely sorry for my deeds as I intend to be a role model next time’ Ali submitted.

As part of his sanction by the League Management Company (LMC), Ali was involved in community service during the 3rd edition of Ahlan preseason tournament in Kano, where he visited Government Boys Secondary School Stadium.

The midfielder coached the students in football and preached the need for discipline before proceeding to control traffic as Road Marshal for three hours on Airport road junction

On the team’s prospects this season, Ali believes the club has made the right additions in the squad to compete for the top in the 2019/2020 NPFL season which gets underway this Sunday.

He added that the reputation of the team has made them attractive to some quality players who have joined to be part of the seasonal high performing side.

“We are Kano Pillars and that name has a strong reputation in the league considering our mega fan base and where the team is coming from. So we cannot slack or leave any stone unturned at this stage’ declared Ali.

“I think the Club had done the needful, having offloaded some players who are surplus to requirements and shipped-in some fresh legs that are capable of withstanding the task ahead, overall, we are ready for the new season’”, Ali said with a measure of assurance

By Uchenna Iyoke