Over the Weekend, Liberia Football Association’s Upper Women Champions Determine Girls Football Club and the Fair-play award’s winner Doe Community Shooters were reportedly negotiating a match fixing strategy for the champions to take over the league-table.
According to sources, both sides allegedly agreed to implement an action that would have led to DC Shooters automatic relegation by the LFA while the current league leader Ambassador FC lose points and Determine Girls move atop with the last game outstanding to complete the season.
The reports revealed that the plan was to have the Doe Community based club DC Shooters forfeiting a game against Blanco making a total of three forfeited games violating Chapter 3 section (4.2f) of the competition’s rule.
The rule states “Any Club failing to honor a match except in the case of force nature determined by the Liberia Football Association should forfeit the match and be fined the sum of L$150,000 to be paid before her immediate next match. Therefore three (forfeitures) shall amount to automatic RELEGATION.”
To this report, both sides denied the allegation terming it as a hunt against the Club’s image that would lead to reverse reaction against those bent tarnishing the club’s image.
DC Shooters Chief Executive Officer, John Winn, and Gustavo Karpeh, Secretary General of Determine told this paper on separate accounts that the clubs were not aware of such action.
Winn disclosed that DC Shooters is currently facing several internal crises that have led to the teams’ under performance in the national.
According to Winn, the ways leading to relegation for the club were also contributed to by other actions demonstrated by the executives of the Liberia Football Association.
He alleged that all of the games missed by the club in the national were not planned but the result of denial of system controllers to place the system players of the club ahead of said games.
“There is no negotiation ongoing between my club and Determine to knowledge. The problem we’ve had was with the system. Many of our players were not placed in the system; at times the FAIT department refused to register us during certain games couple with some internal crisis the club is faced now. We have tried all we can do and will never waste our effects of developing sports as we have done over the years,” Winn said.
Gustavo Karpeh said Determine Girls is focus on winning the rest of her games to acquire more points that will take them to the top of the table contrary to reports of match fixing.
According to Karpeh there were over six points between Determine Girls and Ambassador who is currently on top of the League-table but the club had work tirelessly reducing it to one without aiding any form of cheating in the course of the league.
“This is a time we are hopeful of carrying this league; retaining our title for the third time with no doubt. There is no need to even think we will negotiate with a team to have them relegated for our sake because our girls are certain that retaining the trophy is a must. We were six points behind and never worried now that we are at a single point, it is not a time to lose confidence in process. Anyone linking the team to such is after the reputation; we are building for our institution and that is for their personal greed,” Karpeh noted.
