Former Independent Disciplinary and Appeals Committee chairperson (during the Transition Committee) and referees manager, G.M.T. Otieno, has criticized the ruling by the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Leagues and Competition Committee regarding the abandoned Nairobi United vs. Gor Mahia match, arguing that Gor Mahia deserves to be awarded three points.
Echoing his sentiments on Monday, the former referees boss did not mince his words, faulting home team Nairobi United for failing to deploy adequate security and its fans for instigating the chaos during their Kenya Premier League (KPL) clash played on Sunday, December 21, at Dandora Stadium against the 21-time league champions.
“Whereas I approve of their appeal because the decision by the LCC was irregular, they are the culprits: For failing to deploy adequate security as the host club,” Otieno argued.
He further criticized FKF for allowing a match of such magnitude to be staged at Dandora Stadium with a 4 pm kick-off instead of 3 pm, which would have allowed enough time for resumption in case of such eventualities.
The Federation being a second culprit for allowing a high-intensity match to be played at a ground with inadequate security, starting the match late at 4 PM instead of the usual 3 PM, which would have allowed enough time for resumption of play,” Otieno continued, adding that Gor Mahia should rightly be awarded all three points without any sanctions, or at most, a caution to contain their supporters.
The highly charged fixture was abandoned in the 58th minute after chaos erupted in the stands, right after Nairobi United leveled the score through Ovella Ochieng’, following Ebenezer Adukwaw’s first-half goal for Gor Mahia.
The Sports Dispute Tribunal (SDT) last Friday, March 6, 2026, overturned the ruling by the FKF Leagues and Competition Committee regarding the abandoned match, which had initially deemed it a complete fixture.
The SDT annulled the earlier verdict, citing procedural flaws, and ordered that the dispute be sent back to the FKF Committee for a fresh hearing. It also invalidated the revised FKF Rules and Regulations Governing Kenyan Football (2025 version), stating they were not adopted in line with FKF’s constitution.