The Management of 2nd division club, Gardnerville FC has suspended its head Coach Mouctarr Fofana for time indefinite without salary and benefits. According to the club statement, Mr. Fofana’s suspension come as a result of his alleged failure to take instructions from the club’s Technical Director, Mr. James Salinsah Debbah during their 4-1 defeat to Paynesville FC in the Orange 2nd division league match day 18 at the SKD practice pitch in Paynesville City.
Coach Mouctarr Fofana, speaking with our reporter on Monday, February 20, 2023 via mobile, claimed that Mr. Debbah, the Technical Director, ordered him to alter his standard winning formation, which he believed to be improper. After the conclusion of the game, the Club’s CEO, Montserrado County Senator Saah Hallie Joseph, Secretary General Roland Mulbah, and Technical Director James Salinsah Debbah had a secret meeting right there on the field and announced his suspension, according to Coach Fofana. He claims that during their previous match with Global Pharma, he had matching orders that stopped him from standing on the line to offer directions, but he had been prepping the team behind the scenes the entire time.
He said that although they have won three straight games using a 3-5-2 system, during the game against Paynesville FC, a left back player was not responding well, and they wanted to talk to him at halftime. He claimed that as he was discussing system improvements with a player at halftime, the Technical Director entered the locker room and demanded that the formation be changed right away. He resisted the request.
The Technical Director insulted me as well since I didn’t listen to him before he closed the door and walked adamantly over to the CEO, saying that I had disregarded his opinion. Coach Mouctarr remarked, “But I know how to get out of this, and I’m just waiting for the players to get back from their next game against NPA Sinoe in Greenville City to do my official communications to the Liberia Football Association.”
Coach Mouctarr, who recently helped Nimba County win the National County Sports meet, recognized that the club statement has negatively impacted his standing as a professional coach. Technically, he added, it is awful for a club’s technical director to request that a coach change a formation during a game. He added that this is not the technical director’s responsibility.
“A technical director’s job is to oversee the growth and development of players, their coaches, and coaching initiatives within the context of the club, but asking the coach to alter his or her formation is wholly against the rules of the game. When the team returns from Greenville, which is obviously looking down on my line of work, I will formally convey the difficulties to the LFA for resolution since, as I stated, I know how to get out of this situation.”
Gardnersville FC, managed by Coach Mouctarr Fofana, is currently in sixth position in the league standings with 28 points from 18 games, 13 points behind league leaders NPA Anchors, who have 41 points from the same number of games. They have a chance to win the championship because they have advanced to the third round of the Orange.
Reported by: Sylvester Tamba
Contact: +231776687195
