Lawal Urges NPFL to Adopt VAR to End Poor Officiating

Former Nigerian international Oladimeji Lawal is pushing for the introduction of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL). This follows a rise in fan violence fueled by perceived poor officiating in the current season.

Lawal, the immediate past General Manager of 3SC, believes bringing in VAR would help curb the "dubious calls" made by some officials. VAR, an assistant referee who reviews decisions using video, operates on a philosophy of "minimal interference, maximum benefit" to correct "clear and obvious errors" in four main categories: goal/no goal, penalty/no penalty, direct red cards, and mistaken identity. The technology was formally written into football's Laws of the Game by IFAB in 2018.

Recent weeks saw the NPFL organisers suspend referees from key matches, including Kano Pillars vs. 3SC and Nasarawa United vs. Enugu Rangers, due to poor performances.

Reacting to the recurring issues of biased officiating and hooliganism, Lawal, known as "Kabongo," maintained that VAR would help sanitise the league. "We will continue to have problems all over, because the situation on ground is helping the corrupt referees to perpetuate their intentions," he wrote on Facebook.

He argues that Nigeria has the resources to implement the system. "Nigeria is rich enough to invest in VAR. This will definitely help the good referees and also curb the bad ones. We should endeavour to upgrade our standard," Lawal added.