Football Notes: Dead Referee 'Appointed' To Officiate Nigerian League Match

Nigerian football's crisis "has taken a bizarre twist with an attempt to appoint a dead referee for Sunday's match between Warri Wolves and Giwa FC." It comes as Chris Giwa "continues to challenge" Nigerian Football Federation President Amaju Pinnick. A Nigerian court has ruled Giwa should replace the FIFA-recognized Pinnick "and in a move to wrest control he has named the weekend's top-flight officials." However, among those selected is Wale Akinsanya, "who died in January" (BBC, 4/21).

Turkish side Fenerbahce's Super Ligue match against Trabzonspor "was abandoned with a minute remaining on Sunday after a fan attacked the assistant referee." With the home side trailing 4-0, a Trabzonspor supporter "jumped over the barrier at the front of the stand, and attacked assistant referee Volkan Bayarslan." The Turkish Football Federation said in a statement, "A decision on the result will be made by the league's board of directors" (PA, 4/25).