The Oriental Derby/Top of the table clash between Rangers international and Enyimba ended in the worst possible way. A last-minute penalty in Enugu led to protests from Enyimba players, staff and then fans before the game was eventually abandoned.
Pandemonium at the Cathedral:
The referee awards a late penalty to Rangers, prompting Enyimba players to stage a walkout. Enyimba fans invade the pitch and disrupt the match.
At the moment the scores remain 0-0.#NPFL24 pic.twitter.com/R1vWJRp8nj
— NPFL News ???????? (@NPFL_News) June 9, 2024
Online, thousands of people have condemned the show of shame, while others have built their conversations around what led to the melee. From the decision itself down to the process that led to it, John Ojeleye’s big decision has been heavily scrutinized.
Fans and journalists are not waiting for the referees’ committee to determine if the right or wrong call was made. Everyone channeling their inner Pierluigi Collina and using their social platforms to anchor their episode of ‘Ref Watch’.
To be fair, there’s been a lot of people who have shown incredible knowledge of the Laws of the game but there have been some others who either because of partisanship or pure ignorance have sh*t themselves.
But what really happened? Was it as clear a foul as many have said? Was there offside in the build-up? Did the referees communicate to good effect? What are the possible consequences of that incident for all involved?
This is my attempt at explaining what you probably already know by now.
Was It Offside?
I know you want a yes or no answer but trust me, it’s not that simple. Credit to X(formerly Twitter) users, we have seen multiple angles of the incidents that occurred. Using those amateur and professional clips, let’s determine if there was an offside offense or not in the build-up.
Did Enyimba players have a reason to protest the referee's decision in Enugu? pic.twitter.com/8wKVQxPyF2
— Futbol Amebo (@FutbolAmebo) June 10, 2024
When Ikenna Steven plays the cross in, Godwin Obaje was clearly in an offside position. However, being in an offside position is different from committing an offside offense. To commit an offense, you have to get active from an offside position – he wasn’t at that point.
![Image Credit: StarTimes](https://sportsintel.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/kmc_20240610_024904.png)
Then a Rangers player and an Enyimba defender contested for the ball. At this point, Obaje was back onside. This angle of Startimes coverage isn’t great but there’s a better angle from a fan cam.
![Image Credit: StarTimes](https://sportsintel.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/kmc_20240610_025123.png)
The biggest 10 seconds of the 2023/2024 NPFL Season. pic.twitter.com/dziNmaLTo1
— Boda Saka (@bodasaka) June 10, 2024
The next question is, was he offside/onside when the ball got to him and would it have mattered? Well, if it came off an Enyimba player, it wouldn’t matter, it would have been an offside offense. If it came off a Rangers player before it got to him then that changes things. This is where we introduce another amateur video.
NPFL drama ????
The late penalty awarded to Rangers against Enyimba.
Penalty or Not???pic.twitter.com/LoXnm7nlrw
— Adepoju Tobi Samuel ???????? (@OgaNlaMedia) June 9, 2024
From the video above, it looks like the Rangers player got the touch, if so, that automatically plays Obaje onside.
The Startimes Broadcast angles and amateur videos used aren’t the best quality for a review of this magnitude so we cannot say for certain that a perfect decision had been reached. But using what we have to try and reach the best possible conclusion, I’ll say Obaje was onside.
Was It A Foul?
I belong to this journalist platform where some of the brightest minds covering the league are members. That platform was one of the first places these amateur videos were first shared.
After seeing them, one journalist wrote “Penalty every day, and twice on Sundays”. After watching the clips repeatedly, I can confirm that I agree with him.
I’ve seen a couple of people agree that there was a pullback but they didn’t think it was enough. One journalist called it “soft” and didn’t think it should have been given at that stage of the game. Another one said, “It wasn’t a penalty that should be given in that kind of game”.
While it is true that sometimes, these decisions are not black or white, I don’t think it’s applicable here. This wasn’t a handball, a shove, a tackle, or any of those 50/50 debatable calls. This was a pull. A pull that impacted a player that had a clear sight of the goal.
This was a decision that even if the game had VAR wasn’t going to be overturned because it wasn’t a clear and obvious error. And maybe VAR would even have recommended a red card for DOGSO(denying obvious goal-scoring opportunity).
So What Next?
Two outcomes are possible as it stands and none of them is in favour of Enyimba. The first option is for the game to be restarted on Monday morning with the penalty kick and then sanctions for both teams later. The second option – boardroom points – kicks in if the first doesn’t. In this case, Enyimba will likely lose all 3 points for refusing to continue the game along with other sanctions.
And for a team who have already been sanctioned this season for something similar, the hammer could be heavy.
Rangers will get a fine and possible stadium ban but that would feel like nothing if they get the points.
It’s only a couple of weeks till the end of the season, so don’t be surprised if the hearing, judgment, and appeal of this matter stretch into the off-season. We are in for a not-so-pleasant ride.