Congo Town — The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has confirmed receiving a formal complaint from Liberia following the Lone Star’s 1-0 defeat to Tunisia on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in the ongoing World Cup qualifiers.
The protest centers on allegations of officiating misconduct by Ivorian referee Clement Franklin Kpan, who officiated the match.
Acting on the advice of the Minister of Sports, the Liberia Football Association (LFA) submitted the complaint on March 20, accusing the referee of denying the Lone Star three legitimate penalty appeals.
The LFA’s letter, signed by Secretary General Emmett Crayton, calls for a rematch on the grounds that officiating errors adversely impacted the final result.
One key incident highlighted in the protest states: “During the match, a clear and undeniable handball incident occurred in the box involving a Tunisian defender.” Despite this, the referee failed to award a penalty, which, according to the complaint, deprived Liberia of a rightful opportunity to score.
Responding to the concerns, FIFA’s Head of Qualifiers and International Matches, Gordon Savic, confirmed receipt of Liberia’s protest.
He assured that the matter would be referred to FIFA’s Refereeing and Disciplinary Committees for evaluation.
“We will pass them on to the FIFA Refereeing and FIFA Disciplinary Committees, as it is related to the refereeing performance at a match and to a ‘protest,’ which would fall under the jurisdiction of the latter area,” Savic stated in his response.
However, FIFA has not provided a timeframe for concluding the investigation.
In May 2024, FIFA awarded Liberia three points and three goals after ruling that Equatorial Guinea–one of Liberia’s group opponents–had fielded an ineligible player during the November 2023 World Cup qualifier in Monrovia.
The player in question, Emilio Nsue, had been banned due to unresolved issues regarding his nationality switch, which cast doubt on his eligibility to represent Equatorial Guinea, despite debuting for the national team in 2013.
Following FIFA’s investigation, it was confirmed that Nsue had participated in several matches, including the November 20, 2023, game against Liberia.
As a result, the points were awarded to the Lone Star.
Equatorial Guinea’s captain was banned from all competitions for six months, and the country’s football federation was fined 150,000 Swiss Francs.
After serving his ban, Nsue–Equatorial Guinea’s record goalscorer–was cleared to rejoin the Nzalang Nacional squad.
As it stands in the race to secure a spot at next year’s World Cup finals, Tunisia leads Group H with a five-point cushion over second-placed Namibia. Liberia currently sits third, trailing Tunisia by six points.
Wednesday’s defeat marked Liberia’s third consecutive home loss in the qualifiers, following earlier 1-0 defeats to Malawi and Equatorial Guinea.
The Lone Star will now seek a turnaround in their next match against São Tomé on Monday at the SKD Sports Complex.
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