The Liberia Football Association has banned DC Shooters president John Winn for a season from entering all facilities and participating in all football related under the LFA for reportedly forging accounts of foreign women players.
According to the Liberian FA, the decision emanated from an investigation conducted to unearth the issues related to reports from six of the Doe Community Shooters players who were all Nigerians.
The Grievance Disciplinary Committee of the FA, said after a March 21, 2023 meeting with all parties, established that Winn provided falsified Liberian documents to the six Nigerian female footballers to enable them play in the 2022/2023 Orange women’s division.
“The players had previously admitted to being issued false documents, including Laissez Passez, which enable them to travel from Benin to Liberia,” the release disclosed.
The committee said Winn reportedly seized the players’ documents upon their arrival in Liberia and prepared Liberian birth certificates and citizen’s ID cards bearing Liberian names.
The six players are Goalkeeper Ambali Sekinah, defenders Grace Ojo, Cyril Charity Naomi and Gladys Ajoku; defensive midfielder Mary Kiah and midfielder Bintu Adams were also banned from further participation in the league.
The Committee ruled that all points accumulated by Shooters from matches involving the player(s) be deducted and transferred to all clubs they played against in keeping with Chapter 3, Article 4.2e and 5a of the rules governing the Orange league.
Winn’s ban is in keeping with chapter 4.1 (conduct) section 9, which states that “anyone, who doing football related activities, forges a document or falsifies an authentic document to deceive in legal relationship will be banned for the period of a season,” LFA added.
Further, the GDC recommended that matters of criminal nature be forwarded to the appropriate agency (ies) of government by the LFA for further prosecution on the falsification of documents to include granting of citizenship and lack of residence and work permits for the players.
It reminded the parties of their right to appeal against the ruling in accordance with article 5.0 (protests and appeals) points 8-9.
It can be recalled that six players of DC Shooters held a news conference on 31 January in demand of four months’ arrears.
The LFA, through second Vice President Saye-Taayor Adolphus Dolo, held a meeting of the minds with the players and Winn aimed at resolving the salary issues
The meeting was also attended by legal manager Benedict A. Yarsiah (Atty.), human resource manager Marie Wea, acting finance manager Joseph Sheriff and Aletha Massaquoi and Kebeh Lamine of the women’s department at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium on 2 February.
