The Sierra Leone Premier League Board has cautioned clubs in the habit of boycotting Pre-match/consultative/Protocol meetings.

“The Board’s attention has been drawn to the incessant boycotts of the Pre-match meeting which is mandatory for all clubs to be in attendance,” the Board said in public notice issued on Saturday afternoon.

They added that the Pre-match meetings are supported by Article 21 of the Premier rules and regulation of 2009. They said that the meetings are crucial for the success of any match.

“The goal of the protocol meeting is to ensure that all parties involved in the match have a clear understanding of the rules and regulations and are prepared to adhere to them at all time, during and after the game,” the Board said.

Related News

The Board affirmed that it is the responsibility of the match commissioner to conduct and convene protocol meetings and that teams that reneges or boycott such meetings will be fined.

“The Board would have no option but to levy huge fines against defaulters as provided for in the rules and regulation,” they affirmed.

It further cautioned clubs that if they decide to boycott or fail to comply to such meetings would be at their “own detriment”.

This recent development surfaced after a mid-week fixture between Freetonians SLIFA and Real Republicans was delayed.

Reporting reaching Sierraloaded said that the host club, SLIFA did not attend protocol meeting before the match and therefore provision for security was uncatered for.

The match started 45 minutes away from its actual kick-off time and ended in one all draw.