Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. The Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) has suspended a group of match officials following a review of an officiating error that occurred during the Leone Rock Premier League match between Ports Authority FC and Luawa FC on 8 November 2025 at the Approved School field.
The match ended goalless, but a key incident in the second half has now resulted in disciplinary action.
According to the SLFA Referees Committee, the controversy occurred in the 47th minute when the Luawa FC goalkeeper tripped a Ports Authority striker outside the penalty area, denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity. Despite the severity of the foul, the centre referee Albert Kamara issued only a yellow card and awarded a direct free kick, an action that the committee says contradicts Law 12 of the FIFA Laws of the Game.
SLFA said that a video review later confirmed a series of errors: the referee misapplied the law, both assistant referees failed to signal the foul despite clear visibility, the fourth official did not intervene, and the referee assessor omitted the incident from his report.
The SLFA said the collective mistakes denied Ports Authority FC a legitimate goal-scoring opportunity and undermined the integrity of the match.
The FA announced a series of disciplinary actions, including Referee Albert Kamara handed a three-week suspension and mandatory refresher training on Law 12, both Assistant Referees, Adikali Kargbo and Davids Kargbo suspended for two weeks followed by a refersher training. The Fourth Official, Abdul Fofana received a similar disciplinary action. The Refree Assessor, Juma Kamara was handed a one-month ban with a formal reminder on reporting obligations. As a result, the following disciplinary measures have been imposed:
The SLFA said the action is reaffirmation of its commitment to upholding the Laws of the Game and maintaining high refereeing standards across all competitions.
Bad officiating in Sierra Leone’s top league has been reported in previous seasons. But some sports analysts have praised the SLFA’s disciplinary action considering this season has just commenced. They added that this could be the dawn of a new era in football officiating in the country.
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