In a statement by the Media Officer of the club,  Albert Dakup, claimed that technical crew and the players of his club have seen ‘hell’ as a result of the action of some of the Heartland FC’s supporters.

Dakup alleged that while these shameful acts were being perpetrated, the management of Heartland FC and the Imo State Football Association did nothing to protect the match officials, especially the centre referee,  who was beaten to a pulp.

“Apart from the injury inflicted on Peter Eneji, Plateau United’s cameraman,  Jonah Dadyiam was also assaulted. His camera was also damaged and a sum of N250, 000 meant for feeding for some of the team’s officials also got missing,” he said.

Dakup added that the Team Manager, Abel Iliya was not spared from the attack as he was chased around by the angry supporters of the home side and subsequently lost his Samsung Galaxy X7 mobile phone before he was rescued by some security operatives.

He said “As if that was not enough, Head Coach, Kennedy Boboye, who was attacked by the hoodlums at the stadium, was also attacked for the second time on his way to Port-Harcourt by suspected Heartland fans who apparently were angry with the draw. Boboye had to be rushed to the hospital before he was revived.”

He explained that if not for the timely intervention of an Assistant Commissioner of Police who led a team of his men to Plateau United’s hotel, the team would have been attacked by these hoodlums masquerading as supporters.

Dakup appeal to the League Management Company (LMC) to invoke the relevant section of its framework on Heartland in order to serve as a deterrent to others while those arrested should be made to face the full wrath of the law.

Champions League Preview: Liverpool take on Roma at Anfield

Tonight, Liverpool will take on Italian side, AS Roma in the UEFA Champions League last four encounter at Anfield. At the start of the season, it was almost inconceivable they will reach the Champions League semi-finals. They actually did without suffering a single defeat so far in the competition. 

The Romans benefited from away goal advantage to get past Barcelona in the quarter-finals and Liverpool should be weary of allowing them get that dangerous away goal.

Edin Džeko, with whom Salah will be very familiar, since seven out of Salah’s 15 assists last season were made to the big man, already scored a brace against Chelsea and grabbed a goal in both games against Barcelona.

Virgil van Dijk and Dejan Lovren will need to be on high alert for set pieces and crosses from the wing, which is how Eusebio Di Francesco’s men get their joy exploiting teams.

Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah both started in Liverpool’s weekend match against West Brom. Mané was substituted out at 66’ while Salah played pretty much the whole game. Roberto Firmino, on the other hand, along with likely midfield starter Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, only played the last 30 minutes against the Baggies. Three out of the four likely Liverpool starting defenders also got a break, with only Dejan Lovren making a short cameo at the end of the match.

While Salah has ran away with the goals record in the Premier League, Champions League statistics have been much more balanced for the team. Salah and Firmino both have eight goals to their names, with Mané right behind them with seven. Big James Milner leads the whole competition in assists, having set up his teammates seven times. Firmino is tied for second place with four, which, when added to his eight goals scored, means he’s been involved in twelve goals so far in Europe.

team news:

Liverpool likely Lineup (4-3-3) Karius; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, van Dijk, Robertson; Milner, Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Salah, Firmino, Mané

Maybe there’s an argument to be made for Gini Wijnaldum to start in the midfield, but otherwise, Klopp’s side pretty much picks itself. With Joël Matip, Adam Lallana, and Emre Can all out for the rest of the season, Klopp’s choices are somewhat limited. Captain Jordan Henderson is thankfully available again after missing the away leg of the quarterfinals due to yellow card accumulation.

It will be another huge game for the fullbacks who have really proved their worth over the course of the season. Alexander-Arnold and Robertson seem set to start this one again, with Clyne still not quite ready. Alexander-Arnold, after taking care of Leroy Sané in the quarterfinals, will now be charged with nullifying the threat of Aleksandar Kolarov and cutting off his service to Džeko, likely with the help of the disciplined and enterprising Milner on the right.

Rick Karsdorp and Gregoire Defrel are injured for Roma, but Kolarov, Džeko, Alessandro Florenzi, and Daniele De Rossi were all rested at the weekend in preparation for their England trip.

What the Managers had to Say

Jürgen Klopp: “If anybody thinks this is the easiest draw, then I cannot help this person. They obviously didn’t see both games against Barcelona. In the first result, 4-1 was not how the game was – it was Lionel Messi genius against a good side of Roma.

“The second leg was outstanding, it was outstanding what they did. They should have probably won 4-0 or 5-0 – I was really impressed. It is just the draw and I know it is very exciting, but it is good because the most important news is we are still in the competition.”

Eusebio Di Francesco: “[Salah’s] qualities are very clear. Don’t forget that I prepared games against him in Italy, too. But the fact lots of our players know him well, that can be an advantage.”