Laffor kicked out by his country
Mamelodi Sundowns’ record signing Antony Laffor has been kicked out of Liberia’s squad for their weekend trip to Namibia because he disappeared from the team’s camp for three days.
Laffor is also stripped of the captaincy of his country’s national team after a decision by coach Kaetu Smith.
Two other senior players Francis Doe and Dioh Williams were also expelled for arriving late back at the team’s training camp.
Laffor, according to a statement by the Liberia Football Association, had gone missing for three days while the rest of his teammates trained for last Sunday’s World Cup qualifier at home to Angola in Monrovia.
This is why he was benched for the game, though he did come on as a second half substitute in the goalless tie.
“It had become imperative to rid the three players from the team based on their constant uncontrollable behaviour including late arrival for practice sessions and constant boycotts of camp which were in violation of the national team player’s code of conduct,” the statement said.
The tardiness of the trio meant the squad missed a flight to Ghana on Monday to catch a connection to Windhoek for Saturday’s African Nations Cup first round, second leg qualifier.
As a result the Liberian Football Association had to pay an extra US$20 000 in hotel costs for the team in transit in Accra.
They are now set to arrive in a state of crisis in Namibia on the eve of Saturday night’s game in Windhoek.
The Lone Stars, who lost to Senegal and drew at home with Angola on Sunday, defend a slender 1-0 lead against Namibia.
Laffor has a long history of wayward behaviour and was in frequent trouble at SuperSport United about his attitude. They sold him for around R5-million to Sundowns in January.
The creative winger missed the vital last weeks of the season with an alleged heel injury but just one week after sitting out the Nedbank Cup final played for his country in their World Cup qualifier against Senegal in Dakar.
