The Gambia Football Federation, GFF, faces a 5.1 million dalasi ($100, 000) fine over last month’s poor reception of the Gabonese national football team.
A disciplinary board of the Confederation of African Football, CAF, announced late Tuesday that The Gambia breached “the loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship values and rules of fair play” in its reception of the Gabonese team.
In November, the Gabon national football team was left stranded and slept at the Banjul International Airport “for not presenting Covid-19 tests results” ahead of a crucial Group D Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against The Gambia.
The Gambia government had set rules a month earlier that visitors would have to present negative covid tests taken 72 hours before arrival or be quarantined and tested for coronavirus.
According to CAF, the GFF will pay half of the fine which is 2.5 million dalasi ($50, 000). The other half is suspended on the condition that the Gambia is not found guilty of a similar offence within two years.
The Gambia is top of Group D, levelled with Gabon on seven points, and with two points ahead of DR Congo and six points ahead of Angola with two matches left.
AFCON 2021, now moved to January 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic, will be hosted by Cameroon.
Meanwhile, CAF’s disciplinary body has also placed a 10, 000 dollar (more than half a million dalasi) fine on the Gabon’s captain Pierre Emerick Aubameyang.
The Arsenal forward “breached the values of sportsmanship and integrity” on the Gabonese football federation for his “regrettable behaviour”, according to CAF.
Aubameyang used social media to highlight their plight after arriving at Banjul International Airport on November 16, and criticising CAF for the poor reception his team suffered in The Gambia.
The disciplinary body said on Tuesday that Aubameyang’s actions were “offensive and undermines the honour and image of the Confederation of African Football”.
- Featured image taken from Caf Online.
