Five Days Down The Line: The Gombe United Saga

This is an opinion based piece, I advise you not to read it.

A casual search for Gombe United across the Nigerian internet space will throw up unsavory news stories published on leading sports websites, ESPN and Goal, to mention a few. A stranger to the news item is fed with information about the 3.5Million Naira fined imposed on them by the League Management Company(LMC) for violent scenes that erupted during their rescheduled match day 19 clash against Enugu Rangers on the 10th of May, 2017.

 

Web search for Gombe United

A goal down at half time, two goals down in the second half, Gombe United came back on the day, equalized both goals and took the lead before a moment of magic from Osas Okoro salvaged a point Rangers International who must have felt hard done by securing just a point after being two goals up.

As you must have deduced from the previous paragraph, this game had the makings of a thriller, a good game for neutrals and fans alike. Howbeit, today's story is not about the quality of play, questionable officiating or the final score, it is about missile throwing, pitch invasion, player beating, and chief among them, the Emmanuel Fabiyi vs Gombe United show of shame.

Fan control in the NPFL is an issue closely monitored by the LMC. Over time, the company has wielded the big stick in dealing with clubs who fail to control their fans during games, with three clubs, Remo, Kano Pillars and most recently Gombe United receiving substantial fines. Despite proactive and reactive measures by the LMC, fans have still found a way to steal the headlines from the quality of play to the fight for survival in the midst of seemingly well coordinated mob actions(can I hear Kano? Anyone?).

With the game finely poised for a rangers win, the 12th man, the fans, made their presence felt. From hauling stones into the field of play(one of which connected with Etim Mathew of Rangers International) during the game, to half time restiveness, to referee intimidation, to harassing the opposing team at the end of the game despite their remarkable score line.

Somewhere in the midst of all of this, the main reason for this post occurred. Fans of Gombe United turned on their own goal keeper, Emmanuel Fabiyi, leaving him well knocked up, needing a new hairdo, a few stitches, reassuring hugs children and scared sh**less for his life.

Fabiyi after the incident and a picture of his hair cut before the incident(screenshots from instagram and twitter)

All it takes for a mob action is for one vocal person to interpret events the wrong way. The verdict was out after the third goal by Osas Okoro, Fabiyi had been tried during the 90 minute period and the jury had decided he deliberately was performed below par. Fans descended on their stunned goalie, who prior to the day's events thought himself a favourite with the fans(did I mentioned that the crew from Rangers International got knocked up a bit too? Probably skipped my mind).

As shocking as Fabiyi getting beaten up seems, that is not the reason for staying up to write this, nope(relax, I will tell you the real reason). Beaten ,humiliated and threatened by people that once cheered for him, Fabiyi turned to his employers for succour, longing for breast milk, a warm hug and a stiff reprimand for the erring members in the crowd on the day. Five days down the line, the breast milk, warm hug and reprimand have not come, five days down the line, official communication channels for Gombe United have not reacted to events of Match day 19, five days down the line, Fabiyi has abandoned ship out of fear for his life, five days down the line, the silent treatment of Fabiyi by Gombe United prolongs the shelf life of this issue in the media, five days down the line, Gombe United is bringing negative PR to our league and threatening the LMC project.       

After five days of intense speculation, Fabiyi running for his life, LMC intervening in the saga between employer and employee and the press hounding Gombe United for a reaction, they throw this at us on the sixth day.

PRESS RELEASE FROM GOMBE UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB

Following the culmination of tension in the aftermath of the NPFL match in Gombe between our Rangers and Rangers International, we have received a letter of sanction from LMC. We have formally acknowledged reception of the letter and have accepted the sanctions. However, we have pleaded with LMC to reduce the monetary fine imposed on the club.

We have taken a number of punitive actions in lieu of the stipulations spelled in LMC's letter, and with a view to preventing further interruptions in the stadium during our home games:

1. The club has suspended Alhaji Kwairanga, the club's Assistant Team Manager, for one month, from participating in all the club's activities, for inciting fans at the stadium.

2. Isa Gambo, an official of the Supporters Club, is also suspended for one month, for the same fault as in (1) above.

3. Another fan, Durwa, who assaulted Fabiyi Emmanuel,;is currently in detention and will be prosecuted, he is banned from the stadium indefinitely.

4. At the end of the match, and following the unfortunate assault on Fabiyi Emmanuel, he was taken by the club management to hospital for treatment, but he later disappeared without trace and without notifying the club.

5. Based on allegations of match fixing by Fabiyi Emmanuel, a special committee of Investigations,;comprising of members of the management board, police and SSS, is set up to investigate the allegations.

Sgd: U. TANIMU UMAR

AGM (Media and Publicity)

Gombe United Football Club.

If this report is the official reaction to this incident, then it leaves more questions than answers. Was Fabiyi assaulted by one man? What role did other players of Gombe United play during the attack on Fabiyi? What role did members of the coaching crew play during the attack? Football is characterized by brotherhood, hence the inquest into the actions or inactions of the Gombe United playing and coaching crew when their brother was being beaten up, or could it be that the position of the fans was shared by crew members before the final whistle and they secretly prayed Fabiyi gets killed by the fans.   

Reacting to being taken to the hospital by officials of Gombe United, Fabiyi in a telephone interview with NPFLZONE said that he was taken to the hospital in the stadium ambulance escorted by officers of the Nigerian Police Force. The same officers along side the Personal Assistant to the Club Chairman(as alleged by Fabiyi in an interview in Nigeria Football Support Platform) gave a professional opinion on the danger he was in and advised him to flee the hospital to a hotel to ensure the fans do not get a chance to finish what they started. With his employer clearly passive(how else do you explain five days of silence and no one sticking up to the fans at the stadium), Fabiyi takes matters into his own hands and runs to the relative safety of the hills in Jos.

When I set out to write this piece, I did not in my wildest thoughts imagine that the almighty DSS and SSS will be called into this. In a stunning twists, Gombe United invites in the calvary to investigate their goalkeeper for match fixing and give slaps on the wrists to members of their staff accused of inciting fan violence, the same violence that led them to arrest and hand over one of their supporters to the police for persecution(did you guys notice the panel is made up of managemnt team members, the police, DSS and SSS? Management, really?)

With twists and turns emanating from all corners, in steps Gara Gombe Ahmed Shuaibu, the Ex Gombe FA Chairman with his well conducted research into the issue. Through his facebook page, Shauibu says that on finding out about the incident, he went to Gombe and his impeccable sources, the fans, came to him with confirmed information that Fabiyi bet on the match finishing as a draw and went on to ensure that happens. He goes further to allege that Fabiyi booked the hotel accommodation for the opposing team and was sited with a team official of Rangers International the evening before the game(it actually does not concern me but I thought it wise to let you guys know that no credible source was mentioned or credited with all information he alleged. Just wondering, who else noticed Fabiyi was referred to as goal keeper throughout his pos? Maybe his name is hard to write).

Screenshots from facebook page

Reacting to the allegations by Shuaibu, Fabiyi in a telephone interview with NPFLZONE described the statement and all his allegations as false and uncalled for. Speaking further, Fabiyi said that he was with his team at their own hotel the day before the game and did not meet any official of Ranger International(did I forget to mention that Fabiyi said he does not do any shop football betting whatsoever and hence did not bet on his teams match with rangers international as alleged by Shuaibu. Also Fabiyi says he bets on foreign leagues but never the Nigerian League, I think he deserves a knock).

Considering the lofty status enjoyed by Shuaibu in football circles in Nigeria, I had to double check his story against another source because the high and mighty Shuaibu cannot just fabricate lies against a player looking to play his football and concentrate on his game. Media officer to Rangers International, Mr Foster Chime, when contacted and presented with Shuaibu's allegation, described the allegation as a non issue and the most uncommon and stupid thing anybody can say(sorry, he asked to be quoted). Speaking categorically, Chime said that Rangers International did not book their hotel accommodation through Fabiyi and described the claim as baseless.

So Fabiyi gets a visit from the DSS and SSS, Alhaji Kwairanga and Isa Gambo get slaps on the wrists, Durwa is with the police presently and Gara Gombe Ahmed Shuaibu spreads falsehood on social media. The plot thickens, with all eyes on the LMC(despite the action they have taken already). Salient questions however  are left unanswered.

Will Gara Gombe Ahmed Shuaibu be made to provide evidence or answer for his defamatory comments that casts doubt on the integrity of the league and its playing staff?

Why has Gombe United not offered any show of support for their brutalized goalie?

Will Fabiyi Emmanuel ever be safe in Gombe again?

Do Alhaji Kwairanga and Isa Gambo get stiffer punishment from the LMC?

Did both clubs have personal cameras at the venues to record the game?

Will Rangers International lodge an appeal against Gara Gombe Ahmed Shuaibu for accusing them of collusion?

Through all these, the plot thickens, and Gombe United are a negative influence on the LMC project.

Feature by Modo Victor