NPFL Warns Coaches, Officials of Sanctions Over Public Attacks on Referees
The Nigeria Premier Football League has put coaches and club officials on notice: take officiating complaints through established channels or risk disciplinary consequences for public attacks on referees and the competition.
The warning was communicated in a league memo attributed in multiple Nigerian reports to NPFL Chief Operating Officer Dr Ayo Abdulrahman.
Those reports say the memo reminded clubs that the 2026/27 Framework and Rules restrict public criticism and disparaging statements capable of bringing the league or its officials into disrepute.
The immediate trigger was a post-match interview involving Sporting Lagos coach Jeffery Buter after the club’s Matchday 6 game against Barau FC.
According to reports reproducing the memo, the league said Buter’s comments questioned the integrity of the centre referee.
Now the NPFL is making the consequence explicit.
Further breaches could bring sanctions.
League points clubs back to formal complaint channels
The warning is not simply an instruction to stay silent.
Reports reproducing the memo say the NPFL reminded clubs that formal channels already exist for complaints about officiating to be submitted to the league secretariat.
That distinction is central to the warning: challenge decisions through the competition’s established process rather than through public statements that the league considers damaging to referees or its own credibility.
The same reports say the memo cited Appendix B, Rule 7 and Section A, Rule 5.5.2 of the 2026/27 NPFL Framework and Rules when reminding players, coaches and officials of restrictions on public criticism.
The detailed wording of those provisions has not been independently verified from a publicly available copy of the league’s rulebook.
Abdulrahman was also reported to have linked the warning to the commercial health of the competition, arguing that public conduct capable of damaging the league’s image could also undermine partnership interests.
That gives the intervention a second layer.
This is not only an officiating issue.
It is also a league-governance and brand-protection issue.
Jeffery Buter comments brought the issue into focus
Sporting Lagos’ Matchday 6 encounter with Barau FC became the reference point for the wider warning.
Reports reproducing the league memo say Buter’s interview was cited because his remarks were considered to have questioned the centre referee’s integrity.
But the advisory was directed beyond one coach.
All clubs were reminded of their responsibilities, meaning the warning now hangs over technical staff and officials across the competition as the 2026/27 season develops.
The broader message is that the NPFL wants complaints handled through formal processes rather than through public comments it regards as damaging to the competition or its officials.
The next test will be enforcement
The strongest part of the warning is the sanction language.
Reports reproducing the memo say further breaches could attract disciplinary action under the NPFL Framework and Rules.
What the warning does not do is establish an automatic punishment for every critical public comment.
Nor does it amount to confirmation that Buter or any other coach has received a new sanction.
Any subsequent disciplinary case would need to be assessed on its own facts and on a formal league decision.
For now, the message is clear.
Coaches and officials can challenge officiating.
But the NPFL wants those challenges taken through its formal channels — and has warned that public attacks capable of discrediting referees or the competition may carry consequences.
