Sporting Lagos coach Jeffrey Buter is set to appear before a Nigeria Premier Football League disciplinary panel this week after publicly criticising refereeing in the league, with the club’s media department confirming that he has received the invitation. No date for the hearing has been made public yet.
The summons follows comments Buter made after Sporting Lagos were held 0-0 by Ikorodu City in the Lagos derby at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena on September 30. He told reporters he had already been warned by the league for similar remarks and pushed back at the suggestion that he was the one harming the competition.
| Club | Sporting Lagos |
|---|---|
| Coach | Jeffrey Buter |
| Match in question | Sporting Lagos 0-0 Ikorodu City |
| Venue | Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Lagos |
| Match date | 30 September 2026 |
| Status | Invited before NPFL disciplinary panel; hearing date not announced |
Buter turns the disrepute charge back on the referees
Buter initially declined to discuss the officials directly, saying “I will not say anything about the referee. The only thing I will say is the NRA and the Euromatch league board, they know what they are doing.” He then went further, insisting “They say I am bringing the league into disrepute, the referees are bringing the league to disrepute and not me.”
The coach also made clear that this wasn’t a one-off complaint. “This is not the first time; this is back-to-back games. They issued me a warning, and nothing has been issued to the referees,” he said, adding that his side would “keep fighting” against whatever came their way.
The league expects clubs to take grievances about officiating through its formal channels rather than public statements, and the earlier warning Buter referred to means he goes into this hearing as a repeat case. The NPFL hasn’t said what sanction, if any, it is considering.
A tense week for discipline in the NPFL
Buter’s case lands in the same week the league handed down one of the season’s heaviest sanctions, after Inter Lagos were docked three points and fined ₦5.25m over an assault on match officials. Refereeing has become one of the early storylines of the 2026/27 season, and how the panel treats a coach who questions officials in public, rather than one whose players or fans attack them, will be watched closely by other clubs.
On the pitch, Sporting Lagos are still searching for consistency. Their derby stalemate was followed by a 1-1 draw away to Kano Pillars, where Musa cancelled out Ugwu’s opener, and the club will want the hearing settled quickly so Buter can stay on the touchline as the table takes shape. The full picture of where they sit is in our NPFL Matchday 7 results roundup.
