Tosin Oluwalowo

The League Management Company has said it will investigate the flouting of COVID-19 protocols by Nigeria Professional Football League clubs after pockets of fans were seen at some match venues last weekend.

The PUNCH reported on Tuesday that fans were allowed into the Agege Stadium for the match between MFM and Sunshine Stars and the Enyimba Stadium, Aba, during the tie between Enyimba and Wikki Tourists.

This defied the directive of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, which banned fans from stadiums last year.

Speaking with our correspondent on Tuesday, LMC Chief Operating Officer, Salihu Abubakar, said the league body would verify and sanction the erring clubs appropriately.

“They are just reports, we will verify and let you know what we will do,” Abubakar told The PUNCH.

“We will get the reports from the match officials and when they get to us, we will know what actually happened and from there, we will know what to do.

“We are always confident that all the protocols will be observed, but in case they happen, the rules are very clear about what to do. There are sanctions in the regulations for these infractions, but let us get there first.”

Salihu also said the league body was yet to take a decision on Dakkada, after the club reportedly did not carry out COVID-19 tests on their players and officials before their league game against Akwa United December 28, 2019.

The PUNCH had reported that Dakkada did not conduct COVID-19 tests on their players and backroom staff, thus flouting the directive of the Nigeria Football Federation that the tests were mandatory for all the clubs before each game.

On when the LMC would take a decision, Salihu stated, “Nothing yet.”