Liberia: 'Hatchet Buried' - James Debbah, President Weah Settle Long-Standing Feud

19 May 2022
FrontPageAfrica (Monrovia)
By Lennart Dodoo

Monrovia — Former Liberian striker, James Debbah of the Weah 11, has disclosed that the long-standing feud between him and his former teammate, President George Weah, has been resolved as the President rendered an apology to him.

Their feud was fueled by the fact that Debbah did not support the presidential bid of President Weah during the 2017 elections.

In a Facebook post, Debbah stated that the hatchet has been buried.

He wrote: "Be that as it may of all the ruckus during and after the general elections that saw his excellency GMW ascend to the helm of political expediency, we have buried the hatchet and made amends. The President has openly apologized to me! It means a lot to me. I am optimistic that his apology is sincere and I have embraced him with open arms. Our Lord Jesus Christ said we should forgive 70×7 times. Who am I not to adhere to such a doctrine? I am nothing but a MERE MORTAL! We are now anticipating a more cordial working relationship in the future."

The grudge between the pair became very visible when Pres. Weah decided to leave out Debbah from the honoring of the former Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger in February 2018.

In a Facebook post at the time, Debbah noted that "Despite the fact that I am also a recipient of this prestigious award, I was never given an official invitation to the event, but I insisted and went to pay homage to the man (Prof. Arsene Wenger) who give me my break in professional football... God is Great!!!

Debbah began his professional football career with Mighty Barolle in 1984. In 1989 he left Liberia for Union Douala in Cameroon, where he played one season. In 1990, Debbah moved to the French side Olympique Alesand in 1991, he moved up to the Ligue 1 side AS Monaco, linking up with Weah and Wenger, playing in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finals. The following year he moved to Olympique Lyonnais. He moved to Ligue 1 side OGC Nice in 1995, where he lasted until 1997.

He moved to Belgium in 1997 to play for Belgian side RSC Anderlecht. He moved back to Ligue 1 side Paris St. Germain for one season. After leaving PSG, Debbah moved to the Turkcell Super League squad Ankaragucu for the 1998 and 1999 seasons, then to the Iraklis squad in Greece.

Debbah moved with Al-Jazeera Club from 2001-2003 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, then Muharraq Club from 2003-2004 in Bahrain. Four years after leaving Muharraq Club, he moved to the Indonesian Super League squad, PKT Bontang for the 2008-2009 season.

Debbah was part of both the 1996 and 2002 Liberian national football squads in the African Cup of Nations.

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