Nadi put on notice

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Rewa defenders work hard to stop Nadi players Ame Votoniu and Rusiate Matarerega from utilizing the cross ball during their match in the Vodafone Premier League at Prince Charles Park in Nadi. Picture: REINAL CHAND/FILE

THE Nadi Football Association has been slapped with a warning from the Fiji Football Association for bringing disrepute to the sport of football in the country.

“We have put Nadi football on final notice that any recurrence of these kinds of behaviour from the fans will see Nadi losing the right to host their games in future,” said Fiji FA CEO Mohammed Yusuf.

NFA has been issued with stringent instructions from the parent body to curb cases of hooliganism in football matches by increasing the presence of security personnel and the police who should be visible around Prince Charles Park on Sunday.

“The referee will only start the game if the security and the police are visible around the ground otherwise they will not continue with the game.”

Yusuf further stated that the Nadi Football Association is under the spotlight commencing from its Vodafone Premier League clash with Nasinu on Sunday at 3pm.

“We have written to the Nadi Football Association that this is the last chance with the Nasinu match where we will check all these out and if they fail to comply then they will possibly be sanctioned for not hosting any more games.”

When asked on the actions the parent body intends to take should Nadi Football Association fail to adhere to the set of regulations against the Nasinu game on Sunday, Yusuf stated that it will be discussed with the Fiji FA board.

“Well depends on the severity of the issue and until they reform and assure that they can control their crowd and all.

“There is no place for hooliganism in the sport of football and there is a high chance that two Nadi football fans will go down in the annals of the history books as being the first to be banned from witnessing their district’s soccer matches.

“We have identified two people in the video clips; we have now asked Nadi football not to allow those two patrons into the park on Sunday,” Yusuf added.

It has been confirmed that a female and a male are at the centre of the controversy.

“There is a lady and a guy and Nadi football probably know who they are. They will not be allowed to be in the park.

“We saw it from the video clips so Nadi soccer will be able to best identify them and put a ban on them.”

The CEO clarified that the ban for the two patrons is only for one match at present.

“At the moment it is only for the Nadi-Nasinu match so that we want to see an incident-free game on Sunday. Then we will decide further on that.”

Yusuf further added that the onus falls on all the host district associations to ensure the safety and security of the spectators and officials alike.

“It applies to every district in the country that the hosts must comply with the regulations set down. The responsibility of fans behaviour is the responsibility of the host districts and there should be visible police and security presence in the park. The medical team should also be present at every football match.”

The CEO thanked the football loving fraternity for turning out in numbers to witness quality football matches in the VPL.

“We are happy with the crowd attendance at all the games in all the venues which is a positive sign that the football fans are enjoying the VPL matches and the teams are also preparing very hard to ensure that it is competitive football.”

Efforts to obtain comments from the Nadi Football Association’s interim president Aswant Singh proved futile as his mobile was switched off.

The bombshell was dropped by Fiji Football Association in light of Nadi football fans hostility towards the match officials who had to be escorted by the police at the conclusion of the match against Rewa last week.

Nadi will host Nasinu at 3pm today.

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