Liberians face mob menace ahead of WC match

MONROVIA: The Liberian national football team say they were met by an armed mob when they arrived for training ahead of a World Cup soccer match in Sierra Leone.

With the two-leg poised 3-1 for Liberia ahead of Sunday’s return leg the visitors say they feel unsafe and unprotected in Freetown.

"Our players were attacked by Sierra Leone fans with bottles, stones and knives," Liberian federation president Mustafa Raji told AFP by telephone. "They blocked our players and stopped them from getting off the bus and they were unable to enter the Siaka Stevens stadium in Freetown," said Raji. World soccer regulator FIFA’s rules allow for training of the visiting team in the stadium where a World Cup encounter is to take place.