Liberian President and former soccer star George Weah’s plan to honour Arsene Wenger with the West African country’s highest award has been criticised by opposition politicians.
Weah, who was elected president of his country last year, plans to honour the former Arsenal manager and another French soccer coach, Claude Le Roy, at a ceremony on Friday after they both played crucial roles in his career.
Le Roy discovered Weah playing for a club in Cameroon in the late 1980s and recommended him to Wenger, the then coach of Monaco in France.
Wenger took the advice, signed the Liberian who went on to play for Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan, and became the first – and still only – African to win the Fifa world player of the year award in 1995.
Wenger and Le Roy, the current Togo coach, are both expected to attend Friday’s ceremony, government officials said.
But Darius Dillon, an opposition politician, criticised Weah for using the nation’s highest honour and the office of the president to recognise people who only played a role in his “personal life”.
“The nation’s highest honour cannot be given to somebody who has not done something directly for the country,” Mr Dillion said.
Other political opponents have questioned the decision with Emmanuel Gonquoi, of the Economic Freedom Fighters of Liberia, calling it “a complete waste of time”.
Weah is Liberia’s best sportsman ever and the golden years of his career coincided with civil war in Liberia.
Mr Wilson, the sports minister, said he disagreed with the criticism.
“During the heat of the civil war the only good thing that came out of Liberia was George Weah and his soccer prowess,” he said.
“How can we not honour these guys who made him get where he got?”
Weah dedicated his award to Wenger when he was named world player of the year and has said the former Arsenal coach was the most important influence on his career.
He invited Wenger to his inauguration as president in January, although Wenger could not attend.
Wenger has also praised Weah.
“The life of this guy is a real film,” Wenger said earlier this year. “It’s unbelievable. It can make a fantastic film.”
The 51-year-old retired from football in 2003 and turned almost immediately to politics, failing in his first attempt to become president of Liberia in 2005.
His victory by a landslide in last year’s election highlighted his inspiring story — he was born in a slum surrounded by swamps on the outskirts of the Liberian capital Monrovia and overcame early hardship to become an international soccer star and then president of his country.
