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| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Momodou |
Posted - 16 Nov 2020 : 20:52:20
Gambia 2 - Gabon 1 at the Independent Stadium in Bakau today. Congratulations to Scorpions!!! |
| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Momodou |
Posted - 12 Dec 2020 : 21:48:19
GFF DISPUTES CAF DECISION ON GABON
DECEMBER 11, 2020
https://standard.gm/gff-disputes-caf-decision-on-gabon0/
Press release
The Gambia Football Federation (GFF) has reacted with disappointment the decision by Caf to fine it over the incident involving the Gabonese team during a CAN qualifier in Banjul on November 16. The Gabonese team had claimed they were left at the airport for hours unattended which the GFF disputed, saying the visitors didnot comply with the regulation by refusing to show their Covid- 19 certificates.
The Confederation of African Football investigated the matter and came out with a decision fining the Gambia 100,000 USD.
In response, the GFF issued the following statement: “Following the incident that occurred at the Banjul international Airport involving the Gabonese national team and delegation during the return leg of Match Day Four in the AFCON Qualifiers and subsequent to the investigations made by Confederation of African Football on the matter after a complaint was lodged by the Gabon Football Federation, the general public is hereby informed that CAF has communicated the decision of the Disciplinary Board to the GFF as thus:
“To impose upon the GFF, a fine of 100,000 USD (One Hundred Thousand US Dollars) of which 50,000 USD (Fifty Thousand US Dollars) are suspended on the condition that the GFF is not found guilty of a similar offense within a period of twenty-four (24) months.”
The said decision was made after a teleconference hearing held on Sunday, 6th December 2020 where the GFF was represented by the President Mr. Lamin Kaba Bajo, assisted by the GFF First Vice President, Mr. Bakary K. Jammeh and Chairman of GFF Legal Committee, Mr. Cherno Marenah.
During the said hearing, the GFF reiterated her position on the matter as stipulated in the letter sent to CAF on the matter. These include the following salient points, that:
1. The Gabonese Football Federation has changed their arrival date and time on two occasions and the last one was Sunday, 15 November 2020 at 20:00hrs.
2. The GFF sent a distress message to CAF on Sunday, 15th November 2020 at 21:39hrs and copied the Gabonese FF about the failure of the latter to show up at 20:00hrs as per their last communication and that they did not send any new arrival time.
3. The Gabonese delegation landed at the Banjul international airport at 23:30hrs
4. Upon arrival at the airport, the Gabonese delegation refused to hand over their COVID – 19 Test Results to the health authorities at the airport as required by the local COVID-19 Protocols
5. The Gabonese delegation further refused to cooperate with the airport health authorities to undergo COVID-19 test at the airport to enable timely release of the results the following day in order to meet the requirement of CAF COVID-19 Protocols for the match,
6. A push and pull ensued between the Gabonese delegation and the Gambian health authorities at the airport which went on for a few hours
7. Upon the intervention of the Gabonese Ambassador to the Gambia, resident in Dakar, Senegal, the health authorities allowed the delegation to leave for their hotel with the promise that they will undergo the test at the hotel later in the morning,
8. When the testing team arrived at the hotel for test, the Gabonese delegation again refused to undergo the said test,
9. This stalemate at the hotel between the health authorities and the Gabonese delegation also took sometime until the Testing Team had to abandon their mission,
10.It was after their latest confrontation with the COVID-19 Testing Team that the Gabonese delegation surrendered the COVID-19 test results they arrived with to the CAF COVID-19 Officer.
11.After the Technical Meeting prior to the match, CAF organized a video conference including representatives of both teams, the CAF COVID-19 Officer and the Match Commissioner during which both sides were heard, and CAF subsequently decided that the match should go ahead despite the Gabonese players and officials did not undergo the COVID-19 Test in the country.
Based on the fore-going facts, the GFF wishes to reiterate that it had nothing to do with the alleged incident between the local Gambian health authorities and the Gabonese delegation, rather it was purely within the mandate of the latter as per the laid down National COVID-19 Protocols and Regulations.
Whilst expressing her disappointment and disagreement with the decision of the CAF Disciplinary Board, the GFF felt that the actions of the Gabonese delegation were disrespectful and an insult to our national laws, which in our view was endorsed by CAF. Worst of all, and as far as we know, the Gambia VS Gabon match was the only match out of the 48 matches which were played during that period where a particular team was allowed to play the match without undergoing the COVID-19 Test in the host country. This is yet another manifestation of the bias decision of CAF as the referee in this matter.
After due consultations on the matter, the GFF has decided to launch an appeal against the Decision to the CAF Appeals Board.
We thank the general public for the support and solidarity during this period. |
| rassimian |
Posted - 09 Dec 2020 : 16:58:08
Gambia fined $100,000 for letting Gabon team sleep on floor at airport. The Confederation of African football imposed the fine, with 50% being suspended for 24 months. The Gabon football federation also fined $10,000 for offensive and degrading material published by footballer
Aubameyang. |
| rassimian |
Posted - 21 Nov 2020 : 12:31:34
there you go then.! it's all a question of who you believe. sounds like the Gabon players, manager and others have been naughty boys!! not
playing by the covid rules and poor communication. |
| Momodou |
Posted - 20 Nov 2020 : 15:29:54
GAMBIA DEBUNKS GABON
The Standard: November 20, 2020
https://standard.gm/gambia-debunks-gabon/
The Gambia has strongly denied Gabonese football authorities’ claim that they were maltreated in Banjul on arrival for Monday’s Afcon qualifier, which they lost 2-1 to the home side.
Addressing a news conference yesterday, GFF president Lamin Kaba Bajo said Gabon has literally sneaked into Banjul with a preconceived mind and went ahead to implement that strategy, which he said is principally to avoid a Covid-19 test. Mr Bajo also dismissed Gabon’s claim that they were detained at the airport, saying the visitors had refused to comply with a Government regulation to hand over their certificates on arrival.
”Even when they were allowed to go to their hotel too, they refused to be tested, even after I had advised their FA president Pierre Alain Mounguengui on the phone that it was better for them to comply with the guidelines of the Gambia Government which is above me and the GFF,” Bajo said.
He said the Gabonese delegation, from the Sports minister to the ambassador and national team, all avoided giving any information on their arrival, whereabouts or even transport, protocol, or diplomatic needs to their hosts, be it GFF or the Gambia Government, which he said is very strange.
Bajo posited that the GFF was only going by the Caf rules which stated that all teams should be tested before any match to protect players from infecting each other. “That is the Caf rule and that was what we were demanding,” he said. Bajo said the GFF had to reluctantly accept Caf’s ruling to allow the match to go ahead because otherwise ”we will lose as the points will be given to Gabon”. Bajo further revealed that contrary to claims the Gambian delegation suffered more from frustrations at both ends than the Gabonese delegation. ”Even to get them to tell us their arrival times proved a problem and we had to shuttle from town to the airport and eventually relied on Control Tower for information, all, so that we would not be found wanting in our role as hosts,” Mr Bajo said.
He disclosed that his delegation had been frustrated from the word go, with no timely correspondence on visa applications adding it took Caf’s intervention to get Gabon to approve visas for the Gambian team. ”While our people were there, they were subjected to mandatory test and we have made all our travel plans in out of Gabon known to them, yet and our flight back was delayed for well over a day because supposedly, no one was at Franceville airport,” Mr Bajo said.
On the issue of Sulayman Marreh, the Covid positive Gambian player Gabon accused Gambia of abandoning in Libreville, Bajo said the GFF had intended to keep an official in Franceville who would travel to Libreville to link with Marreh, but the attitude and uncertainty displayed by the Gabonese officials made it even unsafe to leave another man in an unknown land.
”However Marreh is our player and we are constantly in touch with him. It is not even true as claimed by my good friend the Gabonese FA president that they are the ones arranging his transfer to another hotel. We are doing all that and in fact we have contacted the Gambian community who are happy to check on him. However you cannot even be sure if anybody would be allowed to meet him,” Bajo lamented.
On the claims by Gabon that a former military officer and current vice president of the GFF was at the airport harassing them, Bajo said the Gabonese must be referring to Gen. Lang Tombong Tamba. ”But I think my friend, the Fegafoot president owes Tamba a big apology. Tamba was not even at the airport,” Bajo said. In conclusion, Bajo said all the correspondences and interactions with the Gabonese over this match are well detailed and documented, adding that the GFF has nothing to hide and are ready for Caf’s investigation.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 20 Nov 2020 : 15:24:31
GFF responds to Gabon delegation claims
The Point: Nov 20, 2020
By: Arfang M.S. Camara
https://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/sports/gff-responds-to-gabon-delegation-claims
The President of The Gambia Football Federation (GFF), Lamin Kaba Bajo, has strongly responded to allegations made by the Gabonese football delegation which attracted massive international media attention as most of which only relied on Arsenal and Gabon captain, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang’s version on social media.
Mr. Bajo informed journalists at a press conference held by GFF that neither the Gabonese advance team nor their ambassador or minister’s arrival details were communicated to The Gambia Football Federation (GFF).
“I also want to be on record to inform the general public that neither their (Gabonese) advance party team nor their ambassador or minister’s arrival details were communicated to us. So, we were not aware of them arriving into the country. All we knew is that they were in mailing list but when they were arriving we never knew.”
He added that not getting any information about their arrivals led to them not being accorded the necessary protocol.
“Worse of all about this incident is, the advance party came into the country to prepare the ground for the match, without any call or even contacting the GFF. They did everything on their own without consulting us. Which is very unprecedented in football,” he said.
The GFF leader said during this pandemic, countries have their own standard practice for those entering their country, noting that on top of that, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has adopted its own requirements with regard to covid-19 test in line with FIFA standards and protocols.
“The CAF rules unequivocally states that any individual who is departing from a country or an area of or transiting through a country or area with current covid-19 community transmission status, must provide confirmation of a negative PRC test result conducted no earlier than 72 hours before departure.”
He further said that: “The new CAF rules subject delectations, match officials and match appointees to mandatory PCR test to be conducted no earlier than 48 hours before the match and be made available 2 hours before departure for the stadium.”
As a result of these rules, Bajo stated that every member of the Gambian delegation flew into Gabon on time and with negative covid-19 test results. According to him, they were subjected to two separate tests; both at the airport and at the hotel while in Gabon.
“Because of the respect that we have for the laws of their country, we complied without hesitation and hope that they would act in the spirit of fair play. It was after the second test at the hotel, one of our key players (Sulayman Marreh) returned positive despite entering with a negative result conducted in Belgium prior to his travel.”
According to him, the GFF had on numeral occasions attempted to ensure the cooperation of its Gabonese partners to communicate their arrival information to make sure all necessary arrangements were made for their smooth transportation from the airport and throughout their stay in the country. “But all efforts proved futile,” he said.
“Apart from the regulation, we should provide them with a bus and a second vehicle for their officials but our vehicles were left abandoned because they went and made their own arrangement without consulting us.”
The GFF boss said in their efforts to know the arrival time of their counterparts, they sent the GFF protocol officer to the airport to have some information about their arrival time.
“The airport control tower said they were going to arrive at 10 p.m. and later midnight. My information said that they arrived at 23:55 p.m. (almost midnight) as opposed to the claimed by my colleague (Gabonese Football Federation president) who said they arrived by 23:45 p.m. but the record at the airport control tower wouldn’t lie. They arrived five minutes to midnight surprising us.”
President Bajo said the initial announcement date communicated on Gabonese arrival was on 14 November (late night of 13 November), noting that they (Gabonese) even told them that they were coming together with the Gambian delegation from Libreville on 13 November; which they later changed.
“They later changed and communicated that they would be coming on 14 November and later changed again to 15 November at 20:00 hours (8pm). Until 09:35 a.m., we never had any communication from them.”
He noted that they instructed the General Secretary to write to CAF to inform them about their frustration for the Gabonese delegation not communicating their arrival time, adding that all what they wanted was to try and avoid the possibility of any lapses on their side regarding their arrival into the country.
“When they arrived, to add salt to injury, they refused to hand over their test results which they claimed were negative and that brought suspicion. Then we said no, if they cannot provide us their test results like any other passenger then we cannot allow them into the country but rather to have them tested for covid-19.”
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| rassimian |
Posted - 20 Nov 2020 : 15:02:19
Sounds like a good win for Gambia but big question is why Gabon team members were forced to stay at airport , sleep on the floor and then only been allowed to leave 10 hours before the match kicked off. A TECHNICALITY was official reason given.?????? |
| toubab1020 |
Posted - 16 Nov 2020 : 22:02:25
Thats good do you have information as to the general public were in attendence or not due to the pandemic laws ? |
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