By Paul Nicholson
December 11 – Musa Bility, the controversial president of the Liberian FA (LFA), is directing LFA officials and standing committees to exclude his arch-critic Rochell Woodson from standing against him in presidential elections due in March 2018.
The claims, made by Woodson, follow a series of events that have seen her suspended from the LFA executive committee and subsequently excluded from the LFA premises.
The campaign against Woodson reached new levels today when her attempts to file her appeal and deposit the fee for the appeal were refused.
News that the LFA elections for president have also been moved forward from March to February also point to fears that gathering support for Woodson would result in the removal of Bility. It is unlikely that Woodson could clear the
Woodson has strong support from the grassroots and leading clubs of Liberian football who have lived in fear of the power Bility wields over them, as well as suffering from his false promises of financial support while having admitted on radio to distributing LFA money to his closest supporters.
Allegations of the disappearance of FIFA money from LFA accounts and not into football projects have been multiple. FIFA has refused to step in to the situation instead preferring to support Bility who in turn has supported African confederation president Ahmad Ahmad, in turn a close supporter of Gianni Infantino of whom Bility has boasted of a close and supportive relationship, much closer than his relationship to former FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
In an email to the LFA appeals committee. Woodson said: “I submitted hard copy of my Appeal to the General Secretary, of which he signed and send me to the Treasurer to pay the amount of L$5,000.00. The Treasurer in person of Jallah Corvah informed me that he needed to verified if he could accept the fees. Mr. Corvah went to the SG office and back to his office, at which time he instructed Joseph Sheriff one of the accountant to accept my Appeal fees.
“While in the process of preparing the receipt, Mr. Corvah received a call and stepped out of the office, came back with another instruction telling him not to prepare the receipt.”
When asking why they would not now accept her appeal fees, Woodson was told that “that the Appeal Committee will contact me in regards to my Appeal “.
“Mr. Chair, the satutue provides that the judiciary bodies of the LFA must be independent and work without interference from the Executive Committee. The act of the Executive Committee headed by Mr. Bility to make decision for the Appeal Committee is a total violations of the LFA satutue and a complete interference in the committees working. This actions and instructions coming from the President Mr. Bility has the propensity of obstructing, denying and delaying due process which is accorded to me by the law of the LFA.”
Woodson, in her appeal against her suspension, says that the charges against her that led to her suspension are both incorrect and unconstitutional.
Of the three counts against her the first charge – a complaint from Bility supporter Isha Johansen, president of the Sierra Leone FA – has already been thrown out by FIFA.
The second and third charges regard her reports of financial and electoral fraud within the LFA which the LFA Ethics committee say that she then refused to co-operate with them for their investigation. Woodson says that she was never contacted by the LFA Ethics investigators.
Woodson also points to the LFA statutes that she says have been breached by the LFA Ethics Committee in handling her case.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1735000217labto1735000217ofdlr1735000217owedi1735000217sni@n1735000217osloh1735000217cin.l1735000217uap1735000217