FC Ebedei did the unthinkable in the 2026 Nationwide League One, NLO, playoff match against Yewa FA on Saturday morning by abandoning the game at 0-0 in Akure.
According to reports, the game kicked off at 11:00 a.m. and remained goalless until the 40th minute. That’s when Yewa FA goalkeeper, Olalere Ridwan, was injured in a collision which left him unconscious and needing urgent medical attention on the pitch.
Despite receiving treatment, Ridwan could not continue. By the 45th minute, his backup had been cleared by the Reserve Referee to come on and the game was set to resume. Instead, FC Ebedei walked off the field in dramatic fashion and refused to return.
Match officials waited the mandatory 15 minutes stipulated by NLO rules, but Ebedei did not reappear. Reports say the players left on the instruction of club owner, Barrister Churchill Oliseh, exiting without the referee’s signal. Minutes later, the team left the stadium completely.
Official Club Statement: Setting the Record Straight
Yewa FA dismissed claims that the match was abandoned because of Ridwan’s injury.
“Contrary to reports, the game was not abandoned due to a collision between our goalkeeper and an FC Ebedei player. Our second-choice goalkeeper had already been cleared by the Reserve Referee to replace the injured keeper and the game was ready to continue.
“Therefore, the narrative that the match was abandoned for that reason is false. FC Ebedei simply walked off the pitch for no reason,” the statement read.
The official match report and eyewitness accounts confirm that the abandonment resulted from FC Ebedei’s decision to leave the field and decline to continue, rather than from the injury incident itself.