Following the outrage generated by their invasion of the pitch during the Oriental derby on Sunday, some fans of Enyimba FC of Aba have explained their reasons for pouring into the field in protest.
DAILY POST recalls that the Rangers vs Enyimba match, which was attended by a mammoth crowd, was marred after the Aba-based team left the pitch because of a penalty awarded by the centre referee, with their supporters also invading the playing field.
But explaining the reason for their actions, some fans of Enyimba who arrived in Umuahia from Enugu on Monday, said the fracas was allegedly started by Rangers fans in the popular stands.
According to some of the supporters, including Nnanna Iwundu and Jeff Ezute, Enyimba fans endured a lot of harassment from the home fans even before the game ended in fracas.
They also claimed that the penalty awarded by the centre was a plot to give victory to Rangers at all cost.
“The whole story everywhere is that we Enyimba fans invaded the pitch but I tell you that the crises even started when the match was still on, we were totally harassed by home fans.
“I plead with NFF and NPFL to be fair in their judgement of the event. We gave Rangers conducive and fair treatment in Aba when they visited, but they harassed us throughout the game before we joined our team in storming out of the stadium,” said Jeff Ezute.
Another fan, Okoro David Amah said, “We were only walking out to meet our team that had left the pitch. We did not invade the pitch.”
Also speaking on the matter, the Publisher of News Mirror magazine, Clinton Uba, who predicted on Sunday that the match may be marred by irregularities ?, said he had been vindicated by the outcome of the game.
He called on NFF and NPFL to carry out a thorough investigation to determine the root cause of the melee.
However, despite the explanation of the Enyimba fans, some Rangers fans who reacted to the ugly event, called on Nigerian football authorities to punish Enyimba for abandoning the game and for their supporters’ unruly behavior.
Oriental Derby: We were harassed in the stands before invading pitch – Enyimba fans
