A MISSED PENALTY RUINS FATIMA’S MIDAS TOUCH
We don’t know what Queen Fatima told our boys in the dressing room at half time but they returned to the field playing a completely different game. In the first half the Liberians played the most negative football we have seen anywhere in the world. Their game management, orchestrated by their goal keeper, was a disgrace. We actually lost count of how many of their players, including the goalkeeper, got booked for time wasting and committing cynical fouls just to disrupt the rhythm of the game and prevent our boys from gathering momentum.
When a penalty was awarded to our team in the last few minutes of the match, the Liberians were broken and Queen Fatima’s Midas touch was looking real. Zengallay stepped forward and took the spot kick in the same way he would make a back pass to his own goalkeeper. We know Zengallay is a very quiet and disciplined professional but what was he thinking as he stepped forward to take that kick? We can think of a few things but please you are free to disbelieve whatever we say here and investigate things:
1. We are not sure Tetteh selected and specific person to take a penalty if one was awarded. So when Leone Stars were awarded one in the dying minutes of the game, Captain Zaingallay thought he should step forward to do the job. Alas!
2. Zaingallay collapsed under the weight of public expectation. SEVEN POINT THREE million pinned their hopes on him to throw Liberia out of the World Cup Qualifiers.
3. Actually our captain was already thinking about what to do with that handsome match winning bonus and was suddenly distracted.
4. Zaingallay did not score because the goalkeeper prematurely left his goal line to narrow the angle. So without VAR, we lost out.
5. Anyway, Zaingallay is a great center back and some would say a holding midfielder, but NEVER a person to convert penalties.
END THE DISGRACEFUL BEHAVIOUR BY SOME FOOTBALL FANS
We have to tell PRINCIPAL that we have reached a point in this country where we have to draw a line in the sand and tell a growing number of lawless Sierra Leoneans that the days when people engaged in acts of violence and unnecessarily disrepute other Sierra Leoneans are over. What we saw at the stadium during the match with Liberia is unacceptable and the Public Order Act must be put to work. Those of us peace-loving Sierra Leoneans are sick to death of our brothers and sisters engaging in riotous conduct at the slightest provocation and even attacking public property.
What was the point of fans pelting sachets full of water on players from Liberia and even police officers? Despite repeated appeals from all those who cared, the missiles continued to fall around the playing area. This is a real shame and we call on the police to make the provisions in the Public Order Act count when the peace is breached in this way. The Public Order Act is not there just for journalists.
Lawlessness is moving from the realm of being classified as isolated incidents to becoming a staple. IG Moigbeh must do something powerful right now. Otherwise we foresee Freetown being called a lawless place. Here’s why we say that:
1. We would be very surprised if FIFA did not ban this country for the behavior of our fans.
2. Why would anybody want to attack a Red Cross ambulance? Even in armed conflict, such facilities are protected. People are charged with war crimes for attacking Red Cross.
3. Why would people walk some miles from the stadium to the home of Zaingallay to attack the place? There is nothing spontaneous about that. It was a planned criminal activity. Surely, we should have people in custody right now being profiled for their day in court tomorrow.
4. We call on the police and stadium authorities to think carefully about whether to allow the sale of water in plastic sachets inside the stadium. Unscrupulous fans have weaponized it to the extent that we now have to let the hooligans know we can act to end violence.
5. No politically-correct organization is issuing press statements now condemning that lawless behavior of some fans. The day the police teach them some lesson in good manner, press releases will fly in from all over the country from this and that organization. Didn’t they see what happened to Liberians in the last few days?
HELLO MUSA TOMBO, YOU CAN NOW RETURN TO SWEDEN
So Musa Tombo’s Messianic mission has come to end for another four years. Sierra Leone is out of the World Cup in Qatar – thrown out by our neighbors across our Southeastern border. Musa Tombo tore up his professional contract in Sweden and within hours was on a plane bound for Sierra Leone. On arrival at Lungi Airport he tucked into a good bowl of rice and Krain Krain, and then he was whisked off for a meeting with his new found greatest admirer, the Queen of Salone football and some photo-ops with madam and friends.
Tombo then told the world he returned home to help our national team qualify to the group stages of the World Cup tournament at least. Other accounts say Tombo forced his way out of the contract because he missed his friends back home and was finding it difficult adjusting to life in cold Sweden. Anyway, let’s see what next for Tombo.
1. Surely, the contract with the Swedish side is now cancelled and Tombo’s mission to save Sierra Leone is over. He should now tell us his options – on WhatsApp as usual.
2. While we wait for that we can suggest a few things for him to consider. He can continue playing six-a-side football in the Portuguese Town League in Freetown or join his new found admirer at FC Johansen.
3. To get a feel of international football closer to home, he can decide to join Horoya Athletic of Guinea. He will always stroll across the border and be happy with his bowl of Krain Krain.
4. Tombo can negotiate a bumper contract with Anthony Navo and remain with E.E. Lions to bang in more goals.
5. Or simply drop football, ride in his great majesty to the great town of Tombo and easily win a seat in the local council in a few years. Good luck bro.
DISRESPECTFUL SLFA WHEN IS YOUR ELECTIVE CONGRESS?
Once again we call on the New Direction administration to ask FIFA to force an election in the SLFA before Christmas because it seems they are the only ones who can get things done down here. The Queen of football and her people will listen on to FIFA. Arrogance and megalomania have taken over since the ACC failed to deliver that killer blow in court.
Please look at this example, the SLFA disagrees with the Ministry of Sport over the management of the last match with Liberia, instead of dealing with the issue in-house, they issue a disrespectful press release telling the government they should stay out of football even after putting billions of our tax leones into both the home and away legs of the World Cup preliminary rounds. So let’s just hand the nation’s money to you and go away to wait for you to come back in a few months asking for more?
In fact, we don’t understand why the minister keeps going around this SLFA. As far as we know they are in office illegally. The mandate ended years ago. Our minister’s business should simply push FIFA into getting the Queen to go to congress and renew her mandate. The SLFA is very scared about facing their people in an elective congress because that will be the day sanity returns to football management in Sierra Leone.
© 2019 Politico Online
