Do Away with Match Fixing

The Chairman Referees Standing committee of the Liberia Referee Association, Meson Goe, has warned referees in the country against match-fixing in the game of football. Mr. Goe admonished Liberian referees to report match-fixing because it is a crime, further emphasizing the availability of facts to authenticate its criminal nature.

Speaking at the close of the week-long international referee training Course in Monrovia, the veteran Liberian referee noted that if a country must have a good referee in every football league, the game must be played with openness, other than discouraging lovers of the game through match-fixing in favor of another team.

He recommended the involvement of state security in issues of match-fixing because they are law enforcers, expressing the belief that such involvement would reduce the rate of match-fixing. Mason Goe described referees as key players in the game of football, adding that if the game must be a good one, let the laws of the game make them know what they are doing on the field of play.

He urged referees, sport lovers and team officials to exercise openness for the game as the game entails fair play. “Do not be caught in the webs my good referees,” Veteran Referee Mason Goe told participants of the workshop, expressing appreciation to them for attending the training course.

He also admonished them to ensure the application of the knowledge acquired.  The training – conducted by Trainer Henriques Carlos of South Africa assisted by two other instructors from Seychelles and Lesotho at stone Haven Guest House in Congo Town, outside Monrovia, gathered 32 Liberian referees and 8 FIFA-batched Liberian referees.

Trainer Carlos – also head of International Fitness, told the Liberian referees that it was time for them to commit themselves to the game’s best practices.  “It you that should know the laws of the game, and the Standing Committee will always back you if the laws are implemented to the latter,” Carlos said.

He said if CAF and FIFA must use any referees from a county you must have morel and ready for the game, to be a FIFA u must first know the laws of the game and must be fitness at all time. He noted that the courses is a yearly program of FIFA to keep all referees fit, saying it is mainly for the new referees.

He expressed the hope that upon their return to Liberia the next time, Liberian referees would be 100% fit to pass the physical and technical test.  The participants also thanked the course instructors, led by Mr. Carlos, for the exercise.

– By Sally Gaye