By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh
Young Africans Football Club has written to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland, appealing against the Gambia Football Federation’s (GFF) Appeals Committee’s decision to relegate the Banjul-based team from the Second Division following an appeal filed by Baalor Sarr FC over the eligibility of certain players in the playoff game to the second division.
Young Africans described the country’s football governing body’s decision in a letter to CAS as an ‘erroneous administrative interpretation’ of the laws and ‘unjust.’
The decision by the Federation last month has caused many tongues to wiggle on the issue.
The Alkamba Times Sports has gathered the letters of Banjul Regional Football Association’s correspondence to the Gambia Football Federation, debunking the ‘facts’ stated in the appeal committee’s conclusion communique and the Young Africans letter to the Court of Arbitration for Sports.
What Really Happened?
On September 18, 2024, Lamin Jassey, GFF’s General Secretary and Secretary of the Appeals Committee, stated that the Committee had unanimously concluded that Young Africans FC violated several regulations and the Football Federation’s Disciplinary Codes 32 and 38.
According to him, in a letter to Baalor Sarr FC(the Complainant team), the Committee, after deliberations, discovered that Young Africans registered an ineligible player in the Second Division Playoff game.
The letter reads, “The Appeals Committee discovered that young Africans fielded an unregistered player who is not registered with the GFF Competition Department.”
The Committee went on to conclude that Young Africans fogged the players’ licenses of Sulayman Faye, Alpha Badjie, Ebrima Nyang, Lamin Badjan, Abdou Touray, and Alberto Gomez, which they said was a violation of their rules.
Additionally, the Committee revealed that Albert Gomez was not on the 30-man list of players for the game. They alleged that Bakary Gomez’s name was altered on the list to that of a non-registered player.
The Committee, acting on its powers, fined and took the win from Young Africans, relegating them from the Second Division to the Third Division.
Banjul Regional Football Association Debunks GFF Appeals Committee Claims
In a letter seen by The Alkamba Times, the Banjul Regional FA wrote to the Gambia Football Federation on September 29 to clarify the claims made by Lamin Jassey, which the Appeals Committee relied on to make the decision against Young Africans.
On the Appeals Committee’s claim that Albert Gomez was not registered, the Banjul RFA wrote:
“We hereby strongly informed you that Albert Gomez was legally registered by Young Africans Football Club in the 2023/24 season with the Banjul Regional Football Association, the body responsible for the regional third division in Banjul,” the letter addressed to Lamin Jassey, reads.
The Appeals Committee claimed that the licenses of certain players were fogged. The Banjul RFA revealed: “Sir, saying that the mentioned players’ licenses were fogged is totally false and unfounded. We are strongly confirming to you that all the players mentioned, including Albert Gomez, met all the Regional Football requirements to play in the triangular, in which they were able to qualify for the second division…”
The FA expressed its utmost disappointment to the GFF’s Appeals Committee for concluding their investigation without inviting them to clarify the players’ cards. According to them, the Appeals Committee’s claims were non-existent.
Young Africans Appeal to CAS
On October 3, 2024, Young Africans took the issue to the Court of Arbitration for Sports to challenge the decision of the Appeals Committee, which can only be overturned by them as per the GFF’s regulations on appeals.
In the letter, Young Africans defended the eligibility of players deemed by GFF as ineligible.
“We believe that the decision rendered by the GFF is unjust, based on erroneous administrative interpretation, and contrary to the rules governing player eligibility and appeals within football competitions,” the club said in a letter to CAS.
According to their letter, Baalor Sarr only complained to the GFF’s Appeals Committee three months after the game, which they believed contradicted the rules on appeals.
“According to the regulations governing football competitions, protests against a player’s eligibility must be lodged within 24 hours of the match in question. ln our case, no such protest was filed within the prescribed time frame. it was only after three months that an appeal was lodged regarding Albert’s eligibility, which clearly violates the timeline stipulated by the rules. This delayed action undermines the integrity of the process and creates uncertainty for teams.”
The club further appeals to CAS to investigate their issue and potentially overturn the GFF’s decision.
“We hereby respectfully request that the Court of Arbitration for Sport carefully review the facts of this case and the evidence we have provided. We are confident that the GFFts decision was based on an administrative misunderstanding and should be overturned. Our club’s rightful place in the GFF Second Division Football League must be reinstated.
We trust that the GAS will approach this matter with impartiality and fairness and take into consideration the severe impact this decision has had on our club. We look forward to your response and remain hopeful that justice will prevail,” the letter reads.
An insider in the club said the club paid 1,000 Swiss francs (GMD 78,740) to file this case with the court. The insider further told The Alkamba Times that the club is ready to file an injunction against the commencement of the GFF Second Division League.
The Alkamba Times Sports attempted to contact Lamin Jassey, the General Secretary of The Gambia Football Federation, for comments, but he did not respond until the publication of this article.
