Center of Controversy: CAF Tips Controversial Malian Ref for Liberia-Nigeria Duel


Controversial Malian referee Koman Coulibaly draws ire from Michael Bradley and Jose Altidore in the USA-Slovenia 2010 World Cup duel. The Malian was ousted from the World Cup for making a bad call during the match.


Monrovia - The Confederation of African Football(CAF) has tipped a controversial referee to officiate Liberia’s crucial and much-anticipated Africa Cup of Nations match against Nigeria on Saturday, September 8 in Monrovia.

Koman Coulibaly of Mali was punished by world governing body FIFA during the 2010 World Cup for over his handling of the USA vs. Slovenia match.

Coulibaly was selected for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where he took charge of the match between Slovenia and the United States. There were some questionable calls in that match and Coulibaly seemed to have problems staying in control. He was assigned only one match and was sent home after the second round together with some other referee teams.

FIFA, responding to concerns about Coulibaly’s handling of the match punished the referee for his non-call that prevented the United States from winning the match by dropping Coulibaly from the World Cup by not assigning him to the next round of World Cup matches.

Koman Coulibaly, refereeing his first World Cup match, called a 'foul' on USA’s Maurice Edu in a critical moment of the USA vs. Slovenaia, which would have given the Americans a 3-2 lead.

Analysts slammed Coulibaly although others said it was the right call. Josh Dean, a blogging on the New York Times wrote after the match: “Coulibaly flat out stole the game. His instincts were terrible for the entire 90 minutes, but his decision to disallow the U.S. team's third goal — an easy tap-in by Edu off a beautiful free kick from Donovan — was one of the worst calls I've ever seen in a game.”

Coulibaly’s handling of the USA-Slovenia clash prompted FIFA President Sepp Blatter to announce that the sport’s governing body would revisit the use of technology after the tournament. FIFA deplores "when you see the evidence of refereeing mistakes" and it would be "nonsense" not to consider changes, Blatter said, adding the only principle up for discussion is goal-line technology.

CAF has however tipped Coulibaly to serve as the chief umpire in the Liberia – Nigeria match.

The game, which is the first leg of a two-leg fixture, takes place on Saturday, September 8, at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Stadium in Paynesville, Liberia.

Coulibaly, is a FIFA-badged umpire who has officiated many international matches, including the last World Cup that was held in South Africa. He has officiated in five Nations Cup finals, including the one held in Mali in 2002 and the 2010 Cup finals in Luanda, Angola.

Coulibaly, is a FIFA-badged umpire who has officiated many international matches, including the last World Cup that was held in South Africa. He has officiated in five Nations Cup finals, including the one held in Mali in 2002 and the 2010 Cup finals in Luanda, Angola.
Eqypt won Ghana 1-0 in the grueling encounter. Mr. Coulibaly also served as the center referee in the FIFA World Cup finals’ group stage match between the United States and Slovenia in 2010 in the Republic of South Africa.
The match ended in a 2-2 tie.

In addition to his referee credentials, Coulibaly also possesses impressive academic qualifications. The 42 year-old holds undergraduate degree in Legal and economic studies from the University of Bamako, Mali. He currently works as Financial Enforcement Officer in Bamako. Coulibaly is a former student at the Faculté des Sciences Juridiques et Économiques and started his referee career in 1993. He received his FIFA badge at the early age of 28.

Coulibaly holds the record of 5 appearances in African Cups with fellow Mail referee Drissa Traoré. Coulibaly was selected for the Africa Cup of nations in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010 where he officiated in the final match.

Coulibaly will be assisted by fellow countrymen Bala Diarra as first assistant referee and Drissa Kamory as second assistant referee. Mr. Diarra was born in 1974 and has been international referee since 2007 while Kamory was born in 1980 and became international referee this year.

The reserved referee will be 40 year-old Ousmane Karembo, another FIFA-tagged international referee since 2005.

In the build up to the match, Eagles Coach Stephen Keshi is yet to name his squad but is said to be impressed with the performance of Osaze Odemwingie who scored on his debut for West Brom in a 3-0 victory of Liverpool in the Premier League. Nigeria’s This Day Newspaper reported Monday that Osaze's performance in the league opener at the Hawthorns appears to have put him in good stead for a call-up for the two-legged encounter against Liberia for a place in next year's African Cup of Nations. Liberia suffered a 1-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea last week ahead of the crucial Nigeria clash lowering expectations for many hoping for a miracle or an impressive show against the Super Eagles as Lone Star looks to book a place in the CAF competition.