Deputy Lone Star Coach Sebwe Slams Media Over 'Fixed Liberia vs Mali' Report

Left defender Solomon Wesseh with a bandaged head shortly before halftime after
colliding during a head butt

Written by Danesius Marteh
danesius.marteh@frontpageafricaonline.com



Deputy Coach Kelvin Sebwe has termed as disappointing media reports that Saturday’s final 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between Liberia and Mali was sold. Coach Sebwe the Liberia Football Association and the team feel vindicated as those reports lack reasoning.

“This is a very disappointing thing to see that Liberians, some journalists, go and write this thing without ram or reasons that we are planning to sell the game. It is not possible. Even though we are not going anywhere but we are not supposed to do that.

“But it is not fair to Liberia because you put the football in danger when you do that. Fortunately, the guys [players] came out here today to fight and they had a good fight and we put up a good show today,” he told journalists after the match.

It was a game that didn’t resemble match-fixing with the predominant local players ready to show what they are made-up. Defensive midfielder Martin Karndu largely rendered Barcelona’s Seydou Keita ineffective; coincidentally they wore the same number 12 jersey and played the same holding midfield role.

It was a replica of what Nestor Sandy, then an LPRC Oilers player, did against Sunday Oliseh, then a Borussia Dortmund player, when Liberia beat Nigeria 2-1 during the 2002 World Cup qualifier at the Samuel Kanyon Doe (SKD) Sports Complex in Paynesville on July 9, 2000.

It was a hard tempo match with fewer yellow cards that left defender Solomon Wesseh with a bandaged head shortly before halftime after colliding during a head butt with defender Mohammed Fofana.

Mali qualified for Gabon and Equatorial Guinea despite being held to a 2-2 draw at the SKD. They finished on 10 points apiece with Cape Verde, but went through courtesy of a better head-to-head record against the island nation.

Dioh Williams opened the scoring barely two minutes after the kick-off but Cheick Diabate replied before Cedric Kante gave Mali an 87th-minute lead. But Patrick Wieh's injury-time equalizer failed to stop the Eagles from reaching their third finals in a row.

Zimbabwe, who had eight points, two, three more than Liberia, needed an away win in Cape Verde to take them to the finals, but they lost 2-1 in Praia. The islanders were 2-0 up after 13 minutes, thanks to goals from Valdo and Ryan, before Knowledge Musona reduced the deficit from the penalty spot after 68 minutes.

Zimbabwe only arrived in Praia on Wednesday, allowing just two full days of training ahead of the decisive clash. Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze capitalized on media reports in Monrovia other than preparing his squad along with coach Norman Mapeza. Mashingaidze alerted Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Caf president Issa Hayatou of the suspicion.

“We are going to play under protest because that result [between Liberia and Mali] is as good as known. Our team is asking for fairness,” he told Zimbabwe’s Daily News on October 2.

“What is even more worrying is that one of Wilson Raj Perumal’s runners is a Malian,” said Mashingaidze in reference to Mali-born Gaye Alassane, who has been accused of fixing games in Central America in cahoots with the jailed Perumal.

Alassane, who was featured in the Daily New, works for a company called Executive Sports, which was formed by his jailed friend Raj Perumal.

Last year, Alassane was seen in the company of Zimbabwean players and officials before the Warriors’ pre-World Cup friendly match with Japan in South Africa, which is believed to have been fixed.

It is not clear if Elliot Kasu, Zifa head of delegation in Cape Verde, made a formal complaint to the match commissioner before the game and whether a Zimbabwean representative was in Monrovia to monitor the game and report back to Zifa and Fifa as was stated by Mashingaidze.

Liberia: 16-Nathaniel Sherman, 6-Trokon Zeon, 8-Alpha James, 3-Teah Dennis, 14-Solomon Wesseh, 12-Martin Karndu, 7-Ansu Toure, 4-Patrick Wleh, 9-Dioh Williams and 10-Sekou Jabateh-Oliseh.

Substitutes: 1-Galley James, 15-Myers Garlo, 13-Morris Kaba, 17-Leon Power Quamie, 11-James Soto-Roberts, 18-Samuel Thompson and 2-Marcus Macauley.

Mali: 16-Soumaila Diakite, 5-Cedric Kante, 2-Mohammed Fofana, 3-Adama Tamboura, 4-Ousmane Coulibaly, 7-Abdou Traore, 8-Kalilou Traore, 9-Cheick Diabate, 12-Seydou Keita, 17-Mohamane Traore and 18-Samba Sow.

Substitutes: 1-Almamy Sogoba, 6-Cheick Diarra, 10-Modibo Maiga, 14-Moustapha Yatabare, 11-Amadou Sidibe, 13-Idrissa Coulibaly and 15-Souleymane Keita.