Barau FC and Katsina United Clash Over Match Violence, NPFL Denies Player Attack

A controversy has erupted following the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Matchday 12 fixture between Barau FC and Katsina United, as both sides traded accusations over crowd violence that left Barau FC’s player, Nana Abraham, injured.

Barau FC’s General Manager, Dominic Iorfa, alleged that the violence was premeditated and that signs of trouble began when Katsina United officials tried to stop him from sitting on his team’s bench. “This thing started when Katsina United insisted that I would not sit on the team’s bench even when my name was on the match sheet… This led to an almost 40 minutes delay,” he said.

Iorfa claimed Katsina United fans turned unruly after Barau FC equalized, throwing objects onto the pitch, one of which struck Abraham. He accused the home team of wanting to win at all cost, adding, “They want to mess up the league and spoil what the NPFL is trying to build.”

However, Katsina United’s Media Officer, Nasir Gide, dismissed Iorfa’s claims as false news. He admitted that “some fans threw objects towards the reserve team of Barau FC, but we immediately controlled the situation… no fan entered the pitch to stab anybody.” He also said video evidence shows the player “denied reports that he had been killed in Katsina.”

The NPFL also refuted reports that Abraham was stabbed, describing them as utterly false. The league stated that the player “was hurt by an object hauled from the stands and was treated on the pitch.”

Following its investigation, the NPFL fined Katsina United ₦9 million for crowd misconduct and failure to provide security. The club will play its home matches behind closed doors at the New Jos Stadium “to safeguard the integrity of the competition.”