Buter Demands Officiating Review After Sporting Lagos Draw

Posted : 02 October 2026

Sporting Lagos Head Coach Jeffrey Buter has called for greater scrutiny of refereeing decisions in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) following his side’s goalless draw with Ikorodu City in a rescheduled Matchday 2 fixture.

The Lagos derby at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, ended without a goal, but the result was overshadowed by Buter’s criticism of the officiating.

The 38-year-old coach questioned the standard of refereeing and suggested that his concerns were not limited to the latest match.

“I will not say anything about the rest of it. The only thing I will say is the NRA and the EuroMatch league board, they know what they are doing,” Buter said.

The Sporting Lagos coach maintained that his team would continue competing despite what he described as challenges surrounding officiating.

“If they think they will frustrate us into getting us not to play, we will keep playing. They say I am bringing the league to disrepute,” he added.

Buter also argued that refereeing decisions, rather than his own comments, were damaging the image of the league and called for the concerns to be addressed.

“The referees are bringing the league to disrepute and not me. If they are not going to fix it, the league is not going to go anywhere,” he said.

The coach further claimed that he had received warnings from the league following previous matches while, in his view, referees had not faced similar action.

“This is not the first time. This is back-to-back games, the second games they issued me a warning, but nothing has been issued to the referees,” he said.

Buter insisted that Sporting Lagos would remain focused on competing and improving despite his concerns.

“We’ll keep showing up for the games and we’ll keep fighting,” he said.

He added that he remained confident in his team's ability to compete against any opponent when allowed to play their football.

“For us, we are going to keep playing and looking to get better,” Buter said.

The draw left newly promoted Sporting Lagos ninth on the NPFL table, while Ikorodu City moved two places above their city rivals following the sharing of points.

The result leaves both Lagos clubs continuing their respective campaigns, with the focus now shifting to their next league assignments.

Buter Demands Officiating Review After Sporting Lagos Draw

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