Meet the Liberian Referees Accepted by FIFA for 2022

FIFA Referees Committee, one of seven standing committees responsible implement and interpret the Laws of the Game and to also appoint the referees and assistant referees for matches in competitions organized by FIFA, over the weekend began to inform Member Associations (MAs) about referees accepted from their respective countries to officiate international matches in 2022.

The Liberia Football Referees Association (LIFRA) in November nominated 12 referees comprising six assistant referees for inclusion into the 2022 FIFA Referees List.

FIFA’s communication to the Liberia Football Association (LFA) shows that only nine out of the 12 referees nominated were accepted.

Four of the nine referees are retaining their badges, while the remaining five are new entries, replacing four referees (Jerry Yekeh, George Rogers, Abraham Fhanbulleh, and Johnson Gbartea) who retired and Sekou Konneh who is said to have missed out on being nominated  due to fitness issues.

Accepted Referees for 2022:

Hassan Corneh:  An international referee since 2017, Corneh has now become Liberia’s most senior referee following the retirement of Jerry Yekeh, who had been an international referee since 2009. 

Sylvina Garnett: Liberia’s lone female referee since 2019, Garnet retained her badge and will have the opportunity to officiate international matches in 2022. Her last international assignment in 2021 was in October when she handled the Women’s AFCON qualifiers match between Guinea Bissau and Mauritania at the Estádio 24 Setembro in Bissau.

Moses Forkpah, 29: An international referee since 2020, Forkpah is a regular referee in Liberia’s first division league and has taken charge of several high profile matches. He was recently assaulted by FC Bea Mountain forward Mark Paye, a situation that led to Paye being banned from all LFA activities for a year.

Stanley Konah, Jr, 25: One of the new entries to the FIFA list has been one of the outstanding young Liberian referees. Konah was one of 12 referees promoted from Class B to Class A in February of this year.  

Emmanuel Mansah, 24: Also a new entry to the FIFA list, Mensah’s performance over the years earned him a promotion to “Class A” referee in February 2021 and now has a bigger task like other new entries following his acceptance to the FIFA list.  

Assistant Referees

Joel W.Doe, 30: Liberia’s youngest international referee in 202o, Doe has now become Liberia's most senior assistant referee following the retirement of Johnson Gbartea. Doe began his referee career in 2012 and became an international referee in 2019. Since then he has officiated matches in the CAF Champions League, Confederation Cup, WAFU, and the African Cup of Nations Qualifiers.

Ephraim Grant, 36: It has been a long time coming since Grant joined the Referees Association in 2012 and has been one of the best in the business. His ambition to become an international referee has finally come to pass and the 36-year-old will now have the opportunity to run with his flag along the line on the international stage.

Tracy Chayee: One of Liberia’s outstanding female referees, Chayee is one of five new entries that joined Sylvina on the team of three female referees. She played alongside Sylvina in a couple of high profile matches including a friendly match between Liberia U-20 and Morocco U-20 women’s national teams at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium. She is also a 400m track runner and has won several medals on the national and international stage.

Hannah Moses, 23: One of the fastest growing referees, was also among the 12 referees promoted from “Class B” to “A” in February. She has become Liberia’s youngest international referee, overtaking Joe W. Doe. Since her promotion, she has officiated in several high profile matches in both men’s and women’s divisions of the Liberian league.

This will be the first time after a decade that Liberia now has three female referees.