Rivers Angels have faced disciplinary action from the management of the Nigeria Women’s Football League (NWFL) following violent conduct on match officials following their recent 1-0 defeat to Bayelsa Queens in the NWFL Super Six championship.
The incident unfolded when Bayelsa Queens’ Glory Edet scored a goal in the third minute, triggering heightened tensions and an unfortunate outbreak of violence perpetrated by players from the losing side, Rivers Angels.
In response to this misconduct, the NWFL has taken measures to address the situation. Rivers Angels duo of Adjei Charlotte and Hassan Suliat were fined for manhandling of match officials after the game, which goes against Article 26.1 of the League Management Code of Conduct.
According to a statement released by the NWFL via its Twitter handle, the club has been fined a sum of ₦1,000,000, and the players were suspended from their third-place match against Confluence Queens.
“After a thorough investigation into the incident and also reports from Match Officials confirming the unruly behaviour of the two players, the Nigeria Women’s Football League has decided to impose the following sanctions on Rivers Angels;
“A fine of One Million Naira (N1,000,000.00) has been imposed on Rivers Angels for contravening Article 26.1 which states that – “Any player or official who assaults a match official or any other person in the course of a match through physical, verbal intimidation, or form of body language that is deemed offensive on or against match officials are liable to a fine of N1,000,000.00 and possible banishment.
“The NWFL may place a ban of up to 1 year on a venue where Match Officials are assaulted”.
Rivers Angels failed to make it to the NWFL finals as they lost to Bayelsa Queens by a lone goal.