IMC Summons Tebowei Bayelsa United Coach to Disciplinary Hearing

IMC Summons Tebowei Bayelsa United Coach to Disciplinary Hearing

Alfred Kadiri

Bayelsa United Coach has been summoned to a disciplinary hearing to provide evidence to support allegations of biased officiating he made following their MatchDay 4 fixture against Lobi Stars, reports BSNSports.com.ng.

The Club's Technical Adviser, Deprieye Tebowei was quoted in the media to have accused the match Referee of biased officiating in their 3-0 defeat in Makurdi, an action considered misconduct by the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL).

The hearing is scheduled to take place on 7th February 2023, by 1:00 pm at the league secretariat. 

In the summons addressed to Bayelsa United, the IMC Legal and Compliance Unit, wrote, "It has come to our attention that the Technical Adviser of Bayelsa United, Deprieye Tebowei, has made reckless and unguarded comments that questions the sporting integrity of the Nigeria Premier Football League.

"The comments which have been published on various media platforms were made after the Match Day 4 fixture: Lobi Stars FC vs. Bayelsa United FC."

The club was reminded that the league has official channels through which complaints and grievances are to be communicated and addressed. 

It went further to note that "Comments of this nature constitute misconduct under Rule C1 of the NPFL Framework and Rules, as it is capable of bringing the league to disrepute."

Relying on Rule C9 of the NPFL Framework and Rules which requires “clubs to control their Players and Officials to ensure their proper conduct at all times, the IMC said that "Coach Deprieye Tebowei and the Chairman of Bayelsa United are hereby invited to a panel of inquiry set up by Rule C15 of the NPFL Framework and Rules."

They are expected to come along with documents or other verifiable evidence to support the comments made after the reference match.