Ahmed Musa, who has worn the Nigeria national team jersey 110 times and scored 18 goals during this period, as well as currently being the captain of Kano Pillars in the Nigerian league, reacted to the referee’s poor decisions in the week 9 match against Nasarawa United.
The player, who has made the most appearances for Nigeria in history and has played for teams like Leicester City and CSKA Moscow, described some referees in the league as “joy-killers.”
The 32-year-old player noted that both center referee Dahiru Muhammed Kawo and assistant referee Abdulmajid Sani Potiskum made several mistakes during the match.
Musa expressed disappointment, particularly regarding the controversial goal scored by Nasarawa United, where two players were in offside positions. He indicated that the referees’ decisions demoralized the players and undermined the league’s credibility.
“I’ve been praising the officiating and the progress in the league up until now, but the performance of the officials in this matchday 9 game makes me wonder if coming back to play in the NPFL was the right choice. For the league to improve, we need to address the quality of officiating. Officials must not be allowed to kill the players’ morale and effort.
“If I keep witnessing such officiating, I cannot encourage anyone to return to the NPFL. It would be a waste of our efforts if this continues,” he stated, urging the NPFL management to take disciplinary action against the referees for their behavior.”
“I wanted to help elevate the NPFL to European standards. But with officiating like what I saw in Lafia, it doesn’t reflect a serious league.”
