With just two games to end the 2016-17 Liberia First Division League season, the league table has been hit with major changes as 12 points have been deducted from league leaders FC Fassell and one point from FA Cup defending champions, Monrovia Club Breweries.
Fassell and the New Kru Town-based Club Breweries saw their points deducted by the disciplinary committee which investigated the cases filed by LISCR FC.
The Shipping Boys filed a complaint against Fassell for using ineligible players in matches against Watanga Football Club, Jubilee Football Club, and Might Barrolle.
According to the complaint filed by LISCR FC, midfielder Jeremy Saygbe was shown a red card in Fassell’s 3-0 win over Watanga in the second phase of the league. Instead of missing the next three games as is the punishment for the red card, he missed only two games and featured in Fassell’s 1-0 win over Jubilee and their 5-0 win over Mighty Barrolle on May 31 and July 19, respectively.
The disciplinary committee recommended that the 1-0 win over Jubilee be reverse to 2-0 in favor of Jubilee, and the 5-0 win over Mighty Barrolle be reverse to a 2-0 win in favor of Mighty Barrolle. The result saw Fassell losing six points and four goals from the two games.
LISCR’s second complaint against the Soccer Missionaries was against defensive midfielder, John Jaysay, who is nicknamed Victor Wanyama among local fans. The player was accused of receiving three yellow cards in each of Fassell’s matches against Monrovia Club Breweries, LPRC Oilers, and Nimba United.
Therefore, he should have been banned from one game, according to the LFA statute, which states that any player who gets yellow cards in three different matches shall be banned from one match for his club. Instead, Jaysay was used in the Fassell’s home and away matches against Watanga Football Club on March 22 and April 14.
The ruling from the disciplinary committee awarded Watanga all six points for the two games and four goals, while Fassell had six points and four goals deducted.
The case of Fassell’s Jaysay was the same filed against Club Breweries’ Malvin Blapoh, who was accused of receiving three yellow cards against Mighty Barrolle, Keitrace, and ELWA United. He was to miss Breweries’ second-leg match with LISCR FC that ended with a 1-1 draw.
The ruling from the disciplinary committee awards LISCR two goals and a point as part of the punishment against Club Breweries.
The results of the all the complaints filed by LISCR FC took them at the top of the league table with 40 points from 20 games while Fassell dropped to fifth on the table with 31 points. Monrovia Club Breweries moved to second with 35 points, leveled at third place Barrack Young Controllers.
The biggest beneficiary of the complaints was Watanga FC, which pocketed six points and moved up to fourth on the table with 32 points, while Mighty Barrolle’s fight against relegation was boosted by the three points gained from the second-leg match against FC Fassell. They remain in the ninth position but with 23 points.
The revised league table.
Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley Jr.
