By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) has suspended Premier League Referee Saiba N’jai also known as ‘Materazzi’ from all football activities for a period of one month.
The suspension came after his poor performance in a league match between Ports Authority FC and this year’s debutants from Lungi, Lamboi FC on the 27th February, 2023 at the Brima Attouga Mini Stadium in Freetown.
The decision was disclosed in a press release by the FA.
After the referees’ committee thoroughly investigated the incident, they decided to hand down the ban on N’jai who they said deliberately failed to acknowledge the flag of the Assistant Referee over the presence of two balls on the pitch and rather awarded a direct free kick to Ports Authority FC which led to a ‘controversial’ goal.
The aforementioned controversy was said to have led to an attack by fans on the Assistant Referee that “exposed his life to danger.”
The SLFA Referees Committee assured club owners, fans and the public that it will leave no stone unturned in restoring sanity and professional refereeing in the game of football in Sierra Leone.
The Committee also called on football fans to desist from attacking match officials and to allow due process of complaint and discipline of defaulting referees to prevail.
Poor refereeing has been on the increase in football matches around the country. Football loving fans have been complaining a lot on poor refereeing and had urged for tougher punitive measures.
Fans have also been condemning the awarding of points to clubs in matches in which supporters of opposing sides carry out a pitch invasion. They have been urging the F.A to levy fines as against point deductions as per international best practices.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (06/03/23)
