River Gee needed just a point to seal them to the quarterfinals, while a win for Cape Mount would have seen them in the last eight, along with Nimba who topped the group.
Monrovia –The Ministry of Youth and Sports, the organizers of the National County Sports Meet, has fined defending football champions, River Gee County, $3,000 for refusing to continue their game with Grand Cape Mount County.
By: Christopher C. Walker [email protected]
According to a statement released by the 2024/2025 National County Meet Steering Committee, the defending champions attributed their refusal to abandon the game to the central referee’s decision to award a second penalty to hosts Cape Mount in their last match of the preliminary round on Saturday, January 18,2025.
Cape Mount had earlier taken the lead from Jah Nyanford’s penalty in the first half. However, when another penalty was awarded to Cape Mount in the second half, officials of River Gee condemned the penalty and urged their players to walk out the sports pitch and all efforts to return them to the field to continue the game were unsuccessful as they insisted.
River Gee needed just a point to seal them to the quarterfinals, while a win for Cape Mount would have seen them in the last eight, along with Nimba who topped the group.
A statement from the Steering Committee signed by its Chairman, Youth and Sports Minister, Cllr Jeror Cole Bangalu indicated that River Gee’s action violates Article 19 of the rules and regulations governing the County Meet.
A communication sent to Malid Sugar Collie, Chairperson of River Gee County Sports Steering Committee, by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, said River Gee walking out of the pitch undermined the true purpose of the County Meet.
“We present our compliments and herewith write to formally address the decision taken by River Gee County Football team during their recent match against Grand Cape Mount County on the 18th of January 2025 in Robert Sport, Grand Cape Mount County, in which the team walked off the field in violation to the NCSC Rules and Regulations. This conduct is in violation of Article 19: Fines and Penalties, as stipulated in the competition’s rules and regulations.,”
Section 19.2 states: “Any county which refuses to play or withdraws from a scheduled game without the consent of the Organizing Committee shall be fined Three Thousand United States Dollars (USS3,000) to be deducted from the county’s next year preparatory funds in addition to forfeiture of the match.”
“By walking out of the match, River Gee County is in breach of this provision. As a result, the following penalties are imposed:
“Forfeiture of the match against Grand Cape Mount County”
“A fine of Three Thousand United States Dollars (US$3,000) is hereby imposed,”
The Ministry in its communication added the River Gee action contravenes the very purpose of the National County Sports Meet, which is to promote National unity through sports.
Also, the defending champions were reminded that the spirit of the competition is peace, reconciliation and oneness of Liberia.
“We urge the River Gee County Sports Steering Committee to acknowledge this notice and take the necessary steps to ensure compliance with the rules in future competitions. Such actions are detrimental to the spirit of the game and the reputation of the competition as a whole,” the MYS communication stated.
Also, during the last edition of the tournament, the Ministry of Youth and Sports fined Grand Bassa US$2,500.00, following the county’s refusal to continue the third-place match against Nimba County.
Earlier, Grand Bassa County took the lead in the first half of the match, with Theophilus Williams scoring from close range. Nimba looked second best in the match, as Bassa controlled possession throughout the first half, which ended 1-0 in Bassa’s favor.
Coming back from the break, Nimba mounted pressure on Bassa, and it paid off when Josiah Cea was brought down in the box by a Bassa defender.
Initially, central referee Moses Forkpa didn’t seem interested in awarding the penalty, but his assistant referee number one saw the foul and waved his flag for the penalty. Forkpa awarded the penalty, which resulted in protests from the Bassa players and their technical staff.
In an unprofessional move, the Bassa technical staff demanded that their players leave the pitch on the grounds that the penalty was unfair. The Bassa players later considered continuing the match, but were forced by their technical staff to leave the pitch, with 30 minutes left in the match.
Grand Bassa Team manager, Ezekiel Johnson, Administrative Assistant, Victoria Geeplay, and Philip Kangar, a member of the Bassa Sports Steering Committee, were also suspended from all MYS organized activities for two years.
It can be recalled that in 2019, Nimba County walked out of the pitch during a grand final game against Grand Kru, and Grand Kru was crowned the champions in that edition of the National County Sports Meet
