Ekiti Queens Football Club head coach, Jacob Vandi, has blamed poor officiating for his side’s 2–0 defeat to Bayelsa Queens in their Matchday 8 fixture of the 2025/2026 NWFL Premiership season, Platinum News is reporting.
Sofiat Bankole opened the scoring for Bayelsa Queens in the 24th minute of the game before Delight Isaac doubled the lead in the 55th minute to seal all three points for Bayelsa Queens.
Speaking to journalists after the encounter, Vandi maintained that his players carried out the game plan well despite the loss.
“My players’ performance is okay. Seriously, they played to what I told them to play,” he said.
The former Adamawa Queens gaffer, however, questioned the officiating, particularly the decision that led to Bayelsa Queens’ second goal.
“If you see, the officiating was somehow. Their first goal is okay, but look at the second goal — it killed the game totally because that ball was offside,” Vandi stated.
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He further suggested that such decisions have contributed to Nigeria’s struggles at the continental level, while calling on match officials to improve their performance going forward.
“That is why we are not doing well in the Champions League, because of this kind of officiating,” he added, while still acknowledging the quality of the opposition. “Sincerely, Bayelsa played well. It’s a good side, but we had ball possession and we pressed too, they were only about kicking.”
“The referees need to go back to their drawing board,” he said.
Despite the setback, the Ekiti Queens boss assured fans that the team would regroup ahead of the next stage of the league.
“We are going back to the drawing board to do what we’re supposed to do,” he concluded.