Former FIFA referee Charles Dowuona has reckoned that matches between Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko are difficult to officiate.
The two bitterest rivals will lock horns at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in an outstanding fixture of the Ghana Premier League on Sunday.
The first round game between the two sides generated lots of controversies following referee Samuel Sukah's decision to award a late controversial penalty to Hearts of Oak, which was expertly converted by Vincent Atinga to win the day for the Phobians.
According to the ex-FIFA referee, handling such games always comes with added pressure as top members of both clubs always want to influence the results.
“It is very difficult to handle Kotoko-Hearts encounters because club officials from both sides will want to influence you whilst others will also call and intimidate you,” Dowuona told footballmadeinghana.com
“If you are a referee and you want to handle such games, you need to have strong heart, be fair and also focus. You might be a good referee but if you don’t take care you will fail. Many referees run away from such games,”
“As it stands now, we do not know who will officiate the Kotoko-Hearts game on Sunday,”
Hearts occupy 3rd on the standings with 39 points while Asante Kotoko are fifth 35 points with two games in hand.