In August 2014, the Sierra Leone FA cancelled all football matches in an effort to stop the spread of the 2014 Ebola virus epidemic in Sierra Leone, a week after the Liberian FA did the same. Sierra Leonean players playing outside Sierra Leone, such as Michael Lahoud playing in the United States, were discriminated against, with opposition players refusing to swap shirts, shake hands and allow them to certain places of the stadium just because they fear that they could be carrying the disease. The Sierra Leonean national team wasn't allowed to play home games and all players had to be foreign-based.