Hearts set for embarrassing defeat in frivolous protest filed against Kotoko, seasoned football administrator predicts

Published on: 13 August 2015

Hearts of Oak’s landmark protest against Asante Kotoko already looks bound for failure after a seasoned football administrator who has displayed deep understanding of the rules governing the game over the years punched several holes in the case filed by the Phobians.

The Ghanaian giants are seeking to have the 2-1 defeat suffered at the hands of their bitterest rivals in their Week 25 fixture reversed over claims Kotoko fielded an unqualified players.

Hearts claim striker Obed Owusu who featured for Kotoko in the game played in Accra was ineligible to play the game due to accumulated cautions and now want the GFA’s Disciplinary Committee to declare Kotoko losers of the game.

But this protest being launched by Hearts – noted for their competence and diligence in launching such legal battles - appear to have done a shoddy work with this one and are heading for a massive embarrassment.

Background

Per the Ghana FA’s General Regulations – the rule book that is used to govern various competitions – a player must serve a mandatory game’s ban once he accumulates three yellow cards in a campaign.

This ban, if secured in the Premier League, can however be served in the next GFA organized/sanctioned matches like the FA Cup.

Player Obed Owusu secured three yellow cards – two from Premier League matches and one from the FA Cup – and was left out of the inaugural Elite Cup match against Dunkwa United.

But Hearts claim the Elite Cup cannot, per law, be ranked amongst the recognized GFA organized/sanctioned matches like the Premier League and the FA Cup because it had not been adopted by Congress – which is the highest decision making body of the Ghana Football Association.

Hearts’ protest bound for spectacular failure

Experienced football administrator Samuel Oduro Nyarko who is the Chief Executive Officer of Wa All Stars, referring to certain articles and precedence believes the Phobians are setting themselves up for the great fall with this case.

“The thing about whether the Elite Cup or any other competition organized by the GFA being rendered not duly sanctioned without the approval from Congress cannot hold,” he told Asempa FM.

“This is cued in the omnibus provision in the General Regulation which states that such bans can be served in the FA Cup and ‘in any other GFA organized or sanctioned matches’.

“Framers sensed that there could be a situation where the GFA would need to organize competitions without necessarily having to go to Congress – just like what happened with the Elite Cup – and therefore made such provisions in this omnibus clause in the General Regulations.

“And therefore in my humble view, the Elite Cup is duly sanctioned by the GFA and can be used to serve punishments like it is done with the FA Cup.”

Precedence

Oduro Nyarko went on to cite some instances which renders Hearts’ protest a mockery and bound for failure even before it reaches the Disciplinary Committee.

“There are several instances which shows that the laws, in this case, are more with Kotoko than are with Hearts and without prejudice to the DC’s ruling, in my personal view, Hearts would lose this protest,” he continued.

“I think Bechem had a similar situation where secured I think a red card in an Elite Cup match was barred from playing in a league game.

“So if a punishment in an Elite Cup can cost you a ban in an ensuing league game, why can’t it be effective the other way round?

“In any case, my own club – Wa All Stars – were notified by the GFA that one of our players was not eligible to play in the Elite Cup match because he had accumulated cautions just like the situation with Kotoko.

“So from all these things, I honestly don’t see how Hearts of Oak can win this case.”

Hearts at risk

The Phobians have now put themselves in the position not only to suffer an embarrassment from what appears to be a failure-bound protest, but then could suffer damages of a fine for wasting the DC’s time for filing a frivolous protest.

Hearts have built a good reputation of being masters at boardroom litigation with the likes of Ernest Thompson and Ashford Tetteh Oku well in their element.

This season alone, the Phobians escaped from the possibility of being docked points for fielding more than three foreigners in a Premier League match.

Their reputation of being extremely alert and competent with the rules of the game is fast dwindling and is set to take a massive hit of their protest, as predicted, goes south.

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