By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The management of the Siaka Stevens Stadium in Freetown has closed all entry points to the stadium ahead of Leone Stars match against Lesotho in Freetown on Thursday.
The closure, which happened at midnight on Sunday, is as a result of a directive from the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) in adherence to a sanction on supporters.
The sanction, which means that Leone Stars’ fans cannot watch the national team playing, was slammed by world football governing body FIFA in September following crowd trouble.
The move by Fifa was a consequence of the unsportsmanlike behavior of Sierra Leonean fans during a game against Liberia on September 8th.
This is the first time the national team – Leone Stars will be playing behind closed doors. In a move that is sure to complicate the team’s situation, the same set of referees who handled the September 8th game between Leone Stars and Lone Stars of Liberia have been assigned to referee this game.
The Burkinabe quartet led by referee Alhassan Outtara has arrived in Freetown. The match commissioner and a 26-man delegation from Lesotho have all arrived ahead of the game slated for Thursday.
As part of the measures, the FAs Competitions Department said the restriction would not only be made for civilians, but even security officers will be barred from accessing the stadium on match day.
“Twenty ball boys will be allowed entrance at the stadium. Players and technical staff of both teams seated on the benches and the dressing room be allowed. That ten executive members from each representative team be allowed,” a statement written by the Director of Competitions, Sorie Ibrahim Sesay, reads.
A handful of Red Cross volunteers will also be allowed, and security officers will be stationed outside the stadium’s perimeter to prevent fans from breaking in.
A “handful” of journalists will also be accredited to witness the game.
The General Secretary of SLFA, Chris Kamara, said: “only action media will be accredited. If you know your business is to report on the game when it is over, then stay at home.”
His comment indicates that print journalists will most likely be denied accreditation from attending the match.
The national stadium houses many facilities including training for sports like boxing, judo, swimming and table tennis. Players of all of these sports will have to wait until after the game on Thursday to access the stadium.
The Chief Security Officer at the stadium, Saidu Jalloh, told Politico on Saturday that they would close the arena to even players who will attempt to come for training with extra people.
“We are making an appeal to the SLFA that when the team is coming for training, they should not bring extra people with them. We will not accept that. They should all be in a bus and we will screen it. Any player who comes to training with someone extra will not be allowed into the stadium,” he declared.
The stadium has three entrances: Syke Street entrance, Swimming Pool entrance and the Cemetery entrance. All of them have been closed since yesterday.
© 2019 Politico Online
