By Danesius Marteh
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected four witnesses provided by the Liberia Football Association (LFA) for an appeal hearing filed by Jubilee FC.
In a letter to CAS on 16 October, LFA legal affairs manager Benedict Yarsiah named Cllr. Jlateh Sayor, Momo Kparteh of the Liberian Business Registry, LFA secretary-general Emmett Crayton and LFA club licensing manager Joel Freeman, who also serves as competitions manager.
But in a letter of rejection to Atty. Joseph Howe (representing Jubilee) and Cllr. Yarsiah on 20 October, CAS said the witnesses were not announced in any written submission by the LFA.
“Accordingly, the sole arbitrator understands that Messrs. Kparteh, Crayton and Freeman are party representatives and not witnesses.
“The sole arbitrator further understands that Mr. [Cllr.] Ambrose Taplah (who heads the LFA appeals board for club licensing issues), who was announced as witness for the respondent, is no longer attending the hearing.
“Separately, I note that the appellant didn’t provide the names and contact details of those attending the hearing on its behalf and invite it to do so by return,” said Counsel Delphine Deschenaux-Rochat.
Delphine shared an order of procedure with Atty. Howe and Cllr. Yarsiah for the appeal hearing on 23 October.
Jubilee were relegated to the third division by the LFA in April, which is on appeal at CAS.
