June 1, 2016 By Sahr Morris Jr
Cameroonian referee Neant Alioum will be the man in the middle when Leone Stars of Sierra Leone take on the Falcons of Jediane of Sudan in Saturday’s 2017 African Cup of Nations Group I qualifiers.
Sierra Leone will host their Sudanese opponent at the National Stadium in Freetown in what is described as a crunch encounter for both sides and due to the significance of the tie, the African football body, CAF decided to named a high profile official for the match.
According to Cafonline.com, Alioum will be assisted by his compatriots Evarist Menkouande and Thierry Bruno Tocke.
The 33-year-old Alioum has been blowing the whistle since 2008 and has officiated in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
He was the central man during the 2015 Club World Cup opener between Sanfrecce Hiroshima of JPN and Auckland City of New Zealand on 10 December, 2015 with Evarist Menkouande as one of his assistants.
He also took charge of the 2015 CAF Confederation Cup final return leg tie between Etoile du Sahel and Orlando Pirates
Neant Alioum has also officiated big matches involving top ranked African squads; he was appointed as the central referee for the Ghana and Tunisia quarter-final match at the 2012 African Cup of Nations and also the 2015 Nations Cup semi-final encounter between Ivory Coast and Congo.
He was one of the CAF referees shortlisted for the Referee of the Year award 2015 but was edged out by Gambia’s Papa Gassam, who scooped the award for the second time in a row.