By Danesius Marteh
The Liberia Football Association (LFA) has terminated the services of beach soccer manager Clarence Lee Chea.
In a letter on 23 March, LFA secretary-general Emmett Crayton said the contract ended in keeping with Liberia’s Decent Work Act of 2015, section 14.3(vii), which states that “an employee has been absent from work for more than 10 consecutive days or more than 20 days over a period of six months without good cause or explanation and as also outlined in your contract.”
But this was the smokescreen used by Crayton, who functions as a conveyor belt at an airport for President Mustapha Ishola Raji, to terminate Lee’s contract.
Lee wasn’t an employee. He was a contractor, who signed a two-year deal in January 2025.
He has not even been paid for March least to talk about the unexpired term of his contract.
Chapter 13 (employment contracts) of the same law quoted by the spineless Crayton provides two conditions under which a contract of employment may end.
And 13.3(b) says “a contract of employment for a definite period ends when the period of time specified in the contract is reached.”
Additionally, article 25 of the 1986 Liberian constitution says the “obligation of contract shall be guaranteed by the republic and no laws shall be passed which might impair this right”.
The Supreme Court, in the “In re petition on the constitutionality of sections 16.1 and 16.2 of the act to amend & restate an act to establish the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (October term, A.D. 2022), ruled that the sanctity of contracts must be respected”.
So how can the LFA terminate a two-year contract, which ends in December, without a notice of violation, due process and or payment for the unexpired term?
An analysis
It was just a matter of days, if not weeks, for Chea to be red-carded from the moment VAR revealed that he signed a Jubilee FC proposal in January to amend the statutes, a violation according to Raji’s laws of the game.
Chea fairly lasted longer than expected for those of us who know and have interacted with Raji: a man so vindictive, arrogant, an enabler, a manipulator and a narcissist.
This was the same Lee (as LFA beach soccer coordinator), who signed a proposal and voted to amend the statutes in 2018 that changed the qualification for candidates seeking elected positions from college to high school graduate after it was proven that Raji forged his academic credentials for the April 2018 elections, saved by a Civil Law Court intervention and a Fifa roadmap, and had only graduated from Urukrumah Development High School in Nigeria.
So LFA human resource manager Marie Wea, acting on Raji’s instructions, permanently transferred Chea to Grand Bassa County on 8 January to establish beach soccer activities when Montserrado County still has mountainous challenges to overcome.
Lee didn’t lie down on his back and clap with his two feet for Wea’s undue and targeted transfer.
“I must respectfully state that the proposed immediate and permanent transfer is untimely, procedurally flawed and strongly objected to, based on the existing beach soccer structural work plan approved by the LFA and aligned with beach soccer worldwide standards in Barcelona, Spain, as well as prevailing Fifa development trends.
“According to internationally accepted practice, beach soccer development follows a three successful league model before expansion beyond the initial base.
“Under this framework, beach soccer associations function as supporting arms of their member associations, not as prematurely deployed standalone structures,” Chea replied.
He argued that the decision to permanently relocate him to Grand Bassa at a stage where Montserrado was just simply developing is anomalous and inconsistent with the approved development pathway.
“Furthermore, any such expansion should be preceded by a technical assessment mission to gather data, evaluate readiness and determine feasibility.
“Relocation without this groundwork undermines the likelihood of sustainable success,” he added.
Chea outlined misapplication of immediate effect, misrepresentation of development status in Montserrado, use of personal resources and violation of the development ladder as reason why his transfer was legally flawed and administratively premature.
“I respectfully urge the management to review the four-year beach soccer development plan and reconsider this transfer decision, which I strongly believe is neither healthy, timely, nor developmentally sound at this stage.
“To that end, I am willing to conduct a one to two week assessment visit to Grand Bassa and submit a comprehensive technical report outlining viable pathways for future development,” Chea concluded.
An assessment report and pictorial evidence was submitted to the LFA on 17 February after an eight-day assessment but it did little to dilute the malice at full thought to unlawfully terminate his contract.
Queries were sent to Raji and Crayton and Vice Presidents Sekou “Ayatollah” Wea Konneh (Prof.) and Saye Taayor Adolphus Dolo but only Raji referred our reporter to Crayton and LFA media manager Anthony Kokoi.
Chea has announced he will seek remedial action, including at the Ministry of Labor and National Labor Court at the Temple of Justice.
