A posse of top Dolphins players are asking to be excused from this weekend's derby against fierce city rivals Sharks, for fear of 'punishment from above' if they put in too much effort and get a result.

A point in this fixture last season allegedly led to a significant slash in wages for three players.

Dolphins may be unbeaten and top of the league, but their so far unblemished record will be in grave danger, and from within, as the team gets ready for Saturday's Garden City derby.

Last season, Dolphins held Sharks to a 0-0 draw at the Sharks Stadium, with Dolphins goalkeeper Sunday Rotimi saving two hotly-disputed penalty kicks, including one deep into second half stoppage time.

Such was the intensity of the game that Dolphins coach Stanley Eguma refused to go into the dressing room at half time, choosing to do his half time team talk on the field.

The match officials also spent nearly five minutes on the pitch, before they bowed to supplication by Sharks assistant coach Kennedy Boboye to go to the dressing room.

That result seriously undermined Sharks chances of staying up, and they only avoided relegation because Bayelsa United lost three points against Wikki Tourists.

Dolphins players claimed they were directed to throw the game by a top government official with oversight functions over both teams, in order to help Sharks survive.

When the second penalty was awarded, the official allegedly approached the Dolphins bench and demanded the penalty be allowed to go in.

He was challenged by three players, including Rotimi, who went on to save the kick.

The other two were Emmah Godwin and Festus Austin.

This season, all three players suffered hugely significant cuts to their annual sign on fees, with skipper Godwin suffering the highest cut of N1.1 million to his sign-on fee. Defender Festus Austin had N1million sliced off his while Rotimi was lucky to see a relatively modest N900 000 pinched off his.

The only other players who suffered cuts to their wages, were fringe players who failed to make any appearances for the club during the season.

The rest of the team, mindful of the punishment suffered by the trio, are now wary about playing for a win.

Only the new recruits, blissfully ignorant of the circumstances, are looking forward to a feisty game.

The current situation again brings to the fore the issue of single ownership of clubs in the same competition, a clear and blatant violation of FIFA regulations on club ownership.

Both clubs are owned by the Rivers State government, and are managed and administered from the office of the State Sports Commissioner.

This is in flagrant violation of Art 9 of the Fifa Club Licensing Regulations, which specifically prohibit a single natural or legal entity from direct or indirect ownership of multiple clubs, in the same competition.

So far, the NFF have refused to act, despite other states being involved in a similar practice.

NPL chairman Davidson Owumi is expecting fireworks this weekend when the Premier League's Garden City rivals Sharks and Dolphins confront each other at the Sharks Stadium.

Despite being both under the control of the Rivers State government, a fierce, sometimes violent rivalry brews nonstop between both teams.

Owumi, who turned out for Sharks in his playing days, is well aware of the of the potential sparks that could fly, and has warned both sides that the NPL will be keeping a close watch on proceedings.

"We expect a very testy game because Sharks have just two points so far, while Dolphins will be trying to keep their unbeaten record in the league," Owumi said.

"I know how difficult these games can be, and the current situation makes it even harder.

"But we expect these two teams to play by the rules, and the fans to behave themselves.

"We will be keeping a close watch on the match and we will not hesitate to apply stiff sanctions on anybody who is found to have acted in a way that brings the game into disrepute.

"So we urge both teams to control both their players and their supporters and give Nigerians and the rest of Africa a fantastic derby game that we can be proud of, and may the better side win."

The game is one of the three live televised matches of the week and will be on SuperSport 9.

D-sense:

@topic
who watches the nigerian premier league ?

medjai:

Besides, this will be a huge test on how much officiating has improved. I hope there wont be cheap penalties and endless injury time

This will be the seventh derby between both sides since March 30, 2003. In the previous ties since 2003, the Blue Angels have never won a game against Dolphin (home and away). There is only one pointer to this game – another draw in the Port Harcourt. But expect fireworks from the stands to pitch with the likes of Victor Ezeji, Bright Ejike, Sunday Rotimi, Owusu Addae and co all primed for this one.

Our prediction: 1 – 1

Recent head-to-head
Saturday, March 30, 2003
Dolphin 0 – 0 Sharks
Saturday, May 18, 2003
Sharks 1 – 1 Dolphin
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Dolphin 2 – 1 Sharks
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Sharks 0 – 2 Dolphin
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Dolphin 1 – 1 Sharks
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Sharks 0 – 0 Dolphin

SSaemoenl:

My first time to see Nigerian match on front page. Hope raising in Naija. Lets celebrates and promotes ours. Well done poster.

semid4lyfe:

True. . . we gats promote our own.

Meanwhile where all those PH Nairalanders like ow11, Ibime etc ?

Pharoh:

How can i watch this match online?

OvieE:


try supersport.com

Pharoh:

Thanks my guy, i know about super sport but they are asking me to link my dstv subscriber number with my account to watch the live streaming. I don't have that, i will just settle for the highlight.

becomrich4:

do they show it.

OvieE:



http://www.supersport.com/video/video5.aspx?play=9141

http://www.supersport.com/video/video5.aspx?play=9140

http://www.supersport.com/video/video5.aspx?play=9139

http://www, com/index.php?topic=15284.0

try supersport.com