Deputy Chief Referee’s FIFA Badge Threatened

By Julu M. Johnson, Jr.

If the dismal performance exhibited by the Deputy Chief Referee at the FIFA Physical Fitness Test is something to consider, then Alphonso Nyanti is at the verge of being dropped from the list of FIFA badge referees for Liberia.

Nyanti failed to finish the 12-minute, 2,700-meter race of the Cooper Test held at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville on Sunday, September 17, 2006.

This portion of the Cooper Test is known to be very essential to the world football governing body FIFA as far as refereeing is concerned. Hence, failing it suggests a major setback to a referee.

Similar poor showing cost Ebenezer Stanley Konah his FIFA badge last year and he was stripped of the post of Deputy Chief Referee, the position Nyanti now occupies.

Ahead of the release of the official results by the Referees Standing Committee of the Liberia Football Association (LFA), there are strong indications that the Deputy Chief Referee runs the risk of being shown the door.

The Referees Standing Committee has, meanwhile, made matters worse by ruling out compromise for not only Nyanti but also any referee who either fails or boycotts the Cooper Test.

At the concluding stage of the Cooper Test, a worried Nyanti was seen alone sitting at the VIP section of the stadium, apparently pondering over his misfortune and imminent removal from the list.

Whether he stands ready to be relegated to that of a National Referee remains the question. But there are hints that he is lobbying to become a female kickball referee like some of his former refereeing colleagues, Jacob Jeetoe and Jacob Toe.

He could not be reached to confirm or deny the information of his next move. Yet, what seems to be definite is the fact that Nyanti would be subjected to a demotion.

The Deputy Chief Referee is a loyal disciple to the President of the Liberia Football Referees Association (LIFRA), Idrissa Kaba. It is, without doubt, owing to this that he was appointed to the post this year. But with the open nature of the Cooper Test, it becomes difficult for the results to be tampered with.

Nyanti was one of two FIFA badge referees that took the Cooper Test, the other being Benedict Yarsiah, the immediate past Chief Referee. Patrick Paye and Sam Korti are also FIFA badge referees but were absent from the process.