Monrovia — Former Liberia Lone Star Captain Anthony Snoti Laffor has voiced his disappointment with some of his former teammates, holding them accountable for the national team's failure to reach the African Cup of Nations finals in recent years.
Despite having a talented pool of players, Laffor expressed his frustration at the inability of the George Weah eleven to secure a spot in the prestigious tournament. Speaking at a recent honoring program in Monrovia, the former Liberian captain believed that the attitude of certain players was a significant factor in the team's failure to qualify for their third Nations Cup.
"I am deeply frustrated today because some of us, who were part of the team, should have played in the Nations Cup. Unfortunately, due to the actions of some of our friends, we were not privileged to do so," Laffor expressed at the event held in Bardnersville. While he refrained from mentioning names, Laffor hinted at the presence of underlying issues known to veteran football analyst Jean Jah (Wleh Bedell).
During his impressive 18-year career in South Africa, playing for Jomo Como's, Super Sports United, Mamelodi Sundowns, and Chippa United, Laffor was a key member of the Lone Star team that missed two opportunities to reach the Nations Cup finals. In 2016, Liberia squandered a 2-0 lead to settle for a frustrating 2-2 draw against Togo, while a 1-0 defeat against DR Congo in 2019 dashed their hopes once again.
Representing Liberia 47 times and scoring five goals for Lone Star, Laffor made his international debut in 2003 and concluded his national team career in 2018. However, he faced disciplinary issues during his tenure. In June 2012, Laffor was initially expelled from the squad ahead of a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier but was later reinstated. Alongside Francis Doe and Dioh Williams, Laffor was expelled from the Lone Star squad for the 2013 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Namibia due to their continuous display of uncontrollable behavior.
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The Liberia Football Association cited late arrivals for practice sessions and frequent boycotts of training camps as the reasons for the trio's expulsion. Despite taking a 1-0 lead into the second-leg tie against Namibia, Liberia faced a setback as they sought alternative goal sources without the trio. Coach Kaetu Smith recommended dropping the three players from the starting lineup and imposed a fine of US$1,000 on each of them. However, the Liberian FA deemed this punishment inadequate.
In a statement, the LFA expressed their dissatisfaction, stating, "The players' consistent misconduct reached an intolerable level when it resulted in the team missing its Delta flight to Ghana en route to Namibia on Monday, 11 June. As a result, the LFA incurred nearly US$20,000 in additional charges for the team's overnight stay in Accra, Ghana."
Recently, Laffor was part of Coach Ansu Keita's technical set-up that aimed to secure a spot in next year's Nations Cup in Ivory Coast. However, the team fell short, suffering a 2-1 defeat against South Africa at the SKD stadium.
