The vice chairman and spokesperson of the Normalization Committee (NC), Omar Sey, has dismissed recent criticisms against him by protesting football stakeholders as the ramblings of ignorant people. Mr. Sey was accused, among other things, of working to prolong the life of the NC so that he would still be in office, and be in good stead to support the re-election bid of CAF president Issa Hayatou. But speaking on AFRI Radio, Sey said the statements by the group’s spokesperson, Borry Darboe, showed the speaker had no knowledge of local and international issues. “I have no desire to use the NC to get to anywhere. I have already been to all heights in football,’’ he said.
Mr Sey further revealed that he felt sorry that ignorant people like Darboe are the types vying for leadership in Gambian football. On charges that he wanted to politicise the issue by accusing protesting clubs of taking a dangerous lane by telling government to its face that it was meddling, and that he Mr Sey himself had questionable loyalties, the NC spokesperson said: “It is common knowledge that I was a PPP politician until I retired. That is no secret, and I wonder what that has to do with this issue’’.
On accusations that he did little or nothing to help Gambian referees while he served as Caf referees standing committee head, Mr Sey again said the accusers are ignorant, otherwise they would have taken notice of how African refereeing in general has progressed under him and his team. He said the accusation was so far from reality, that even some members of Gambian referees he helped develop were e stunned and enraged on hearing the comments.
In conclusion, Mr Sey urged the protesting stakeholders to be genuine, and to take progressive places in the current revamping of Gambian football.