THE Week 35 star match of the Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL) between Rangers International of Enugu and Eyimba of Aba was abandoned by the visitors following a late penalty awarded to the hosts.
The ‘Oriental’ derby, played on Sunday, June 9, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu, was abandoned after Rangers was awarded a penalty in the 107th minute of play.
Eyimba players protested the penalty and when the centre referee stood his ground, the players walked out of the pitch and refused to come back to continue play.
After waiting for Eyimba players to return to the pitch, the referee positioned the ball at the spot, only for some fans at the stand, suspected to be Eyimba supporters, to start throwing objects into the field.
The referee and the Rangers players, fearing for their lives, ran for cover, while the missiles continued to fly into pitch.
The fans Eyimba overpowered the stadium stewards and invaded the pitch of play, thereby bringing the game to an abrupt end.
The Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, with 25,000 capacity, was full, with about 40,000 spectators, who had trooped in to watch the league’s decider-match, which outcome would determine the leaders for the season.
