The Gambia to quit WAFU over officiating

• Posted on September 12, 2017
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The Gambia Football Federation (GFF) is considering its position within the West African Football Union (WAFU).

The comments come after refereeing controversies at the last two regional tournaments.

The GFF has submitted complaints to the regional body and the Confederation of African Football over a penalty awarded at the ongoing WAFU Cup of Nations.

“We’re considering our position in WAFU because with all the resources invested in it – to go out in such manner is not fair,” the GFF president Lamin Kabba Bajo told BBC Sport.

“We will probably discuss the issue in a month’s time during our next executive committee meeting.”

The Gambia were knocked out of the tournament when hosts Ghana scored from the spot after Burkina Faso’s Boukari Ouedraogo adjudged a Gambian player had handled the ball.

This is the second consecutive WAFU Cup of Nations tournament in which The Gambia feel they have been treated unfairly.

Two years ago Senegal were crowned regional champions when The Gambia refused to play extra-time following a goalless draw.

They pointed to the fact that the match officials had said the match would go straight to penalties before ultimately reviewing the rules that stipulated extra-time should be played first.

The GFF’s protest also pointed to two other matches that it feels were poorly officiated recently.

One was an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in September 2016 when the Scorpions lost 2-0 in Cameroon, when the recently banned Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey was in charge.

The other involved controversial offside decisions during an Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in July 2016 as The Gambia lost 2-1 on aggregate to Guinea.

–BBC