Plateau United FC forward, Vincent Temitope, was attacked by irate fans on Sunday after their Nigeria Premier Football League match-day 33 defeat against Nasarawa United in Lafia.
Nasarawa United had won the keenly contested encounter, 3-2 against their North Central neighbours before a video of the player being treated for a cut around his neck surfaced.
During the match, Temitope missed a penalty and scored a goal.
Plateau United FC management discloased this in a press statement signed by the Club's Director of Media and Publicity, Yaksat Maklek, made available to journalists in Jos the State Capital.
The statement reads, “We can authoritatively relate that a group of fans rushed onto the pitch at the blast of the final whistle to identify with stars of their fancy with some demanding for photographs with players and Vincent Temitope, one of them.
“Unsuspectingly, a few planned an attack on him instead, inflicting a cut on his neck region, causing sustained bleeding.
“An attempt to secure medical attention for him saw us visit a number of hospitals including the Kowa Hospital Lafia, the Police clinic and eventually ending up at the Federal Medical Centre, Lafia.
According to him, “While we hold strongly to our storyline, other conflicting versions of the story from defendants claim Vincent was involved in a fight with a fan, leading up to his injury plus accusations that he was involved in arguments with teammates about who would take the penalty when the Peace Boys secured a penalty during the game.
“First, section B, sub section 13 of the NPFL Framework frowns bluntly on fans disruption or disturbance of any kind with heavy punitive sanctions made feasible.
“Talking about the area of jurisdiction, the fans' place is in the stands and not on the field of play, hence, to suggest that Vincent and a fan were fighting is clearly stating the obvious that the fan contravened the framework for being in a wrong place in the first place”, he explained.
The statement further reads, “Besides, they said Vincent quarrelled with team mates on who to take the penalty immediately after Emmanuel Ihezuo was brought down for a penalty kick.
“Vincent is the team's first choice penalty taker and is within right to demand to execute in an event”, he maintained.
“They equally claim that Vincent Temitope had an on field altercation with Nasarawa United Goalkeeper, Detan Ogundare which could easily have earned him a red card, but easily forget that countless opportunities provide across global football where players fight to defend themselves and team from on pitch intimidation and a host of other situations.
The statement, however, maintained that, “We humbly submit that it was no fault of his that he was attacked by football hooligans, but his wellness and safety should be paramount in this conversation than focusing on damning his personality as a professional footballer who is currently with the Nigeria Super Eagles B team where discipline is first and foremost, the watchword”.
