Peter Edibe hails Bakary Gassama following his retirement
Respected Nigerian retired FIFA match official, Peter Edibe has hailed Gambia’s Bakary Gassama following his retirement from active refereeing.
As reported by SPORTSRATION on Saturday, December 23, 2023, Gassama has called time on his refereeing career, a decision that has attracted cheers from around the football world in acknowledgement of his decorated active Referee journey.
Bakary Papa Gassama, born on February 10, 1979, became a FIFA referee in 2007.
Over the course of his illustrious career, Gassama has officiated in various prestigious tournaments, showcasing his expertise and contributing to the world of football just like Nigeria’s Peter Edibe who had since retired.
Notable highlights of Gassama’s career include serving as the fourth official for the gold medal match between Mexico and Brazil at the 2012 Olympic tournament. He also officiated matches at the 2012 and 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, as well as the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
In recognition of his capabilities, FIFA selected the Gambian Referee as one of the 25 referees for the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament, one that Edibe missed out on after being heavily tipped to make what would have been an historic appearance.
Gassama went on to officiate at the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup tournaments, plus other major international engagements like officiating the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations Final between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire on February 8, 2015.
Throughout his career, Bakary Papa Gassama has left an indelible mark on the world of football refereeing, earning respect and admiration for his contributions to the sport, reason former colleague, Peter Edibe of Nigeria, joined the rest of the world to hail him following his retirement.
In a short comment on social media, following a post by SportsRation correspondent, Nsikakabasi Akpan, announcing Gassama’s retirement, Edibe wrote; ” Congratulations Papa “.
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WHAT NEXT FOR GASSAMA
As he draws curtain on his active career, Gassama will most likely join Peter Edibe and other respected retired FIFA referees as an instructor with CAF.
That way, Gassama will have opportunity to transfer knowledge and experience gained from close to two decades of service as an International referee to the younger generation just like Cross River State born, Peter Edibe is currently doing.
