The proprietor of Remo Stars Football Club, Kunle Soname, has accused referees and match officials of crippling the growth of Nigerian football, warning that the domestic league will remain mediocre unless urgent and far-reaching reforms are carried out.
Soname, who spoke on Wednesday in Ikenne, described what he called widespread corruption within the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), alleging that match outcomes are increasingly influenced by bribery rather than fair competition.
He urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to decisively weed out compromised officials to restore credibility and ensure a level playing field for all clubs.
According to Soname, the most effective solution lies in a complete overhaul of the NFF Referees’ Appointment Committee, which he accused of failing in its oversight responsibilities and allowing poor officiating to persist unchecked.
He said he was speaking not only as a club owner but also as a major stakeholder who has invested heavily in the future of Nigerian football, stressing that officiating has become a deep-rooted systemic problem.
“For 17 years, no Nigerian referee has officiated at the Africa Cup of Nations,” Soname said.
“Meanwhile, referees from smaller footballing nations continue to earn those opportunities.
The reason is uncomfortable but clear: the standard of officiating in our domestic league is fundamentally compromised.”
To support his claims, Soname cited video evidence from five different NPFL matches involving various clubs, which he said showed clear officiating errors that directly affected results.
These included unawarded penalties, ignored fouls that led to goals, and a legitimate goal wrongly disallowed in a match between Enugu Rangers and Rivers United.
“These are not 50-50 decisions,” he said. “They are blatant errors captured on video, decisions that clearly change match outcomes.”
Soname also criticised the chairperson of the NFF Referees Committee, Faith Irabor, accusing her of defending poor decisions instead of enforcing accountability.
He said such actions embolden corrupt officials while discouraging honest referees.
By citing a match involving Bendel Insurance and Remo Stars, where an obvious foul in the penalty area was ignored, Soname argued that justifying such decisions damages the integrity of the league and could push upright referees toward compromise when wrongdoing goes unpunished.
He warned that unless decisive action is taken, Nigerian football will continue to suffer reputational damage both locally and internationally.
