Communication Director of Hearts of Oak Kwame Opare Addo, says his side has not requested for a foreign referee to officiate their semi-final game against arch-rivals Asante Kotoko in the Special Competition.
The game is scheduled to come off on June 16, 2019 at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Hearts of Oak emerged winners of Zone B while Asante Kotoko placed second in Zone A in the Ghana Football Association Special Competition to set up this fierce clash.
“Hearts of Oak has not requested for any foreign referees. We trust our local referees and those appointing authorities. We haven’t made such a request. It doesn’t matter the referee that will officiate”, he told Happy FM.
He further went on to say that the Normalisation Committee should not heed to Kotoko’s request for the game to be played on a neutral ground and follow the rules governing this competition.
The semi-final is supposed to be a one-off game according to the organizers but there have been concerns especially from Kotoko for the game to be played over two-legs.
“We shouldn’t entertain Kotoko requesting for a neutral ground because they knew the rules of the competition before they got here. They have all the documents that govern the competition.
“Since when did they start protesting the Accra grounds? Because they are playing Hearts of Oak they are now requesting for a neutral ground. If we were to play at Baba Yara stadium will they request for the game to be played on a neutral ground.
“We should not be encouraging them because they always bring such things, why is Karela FC or Ashgold not protesting for a neutral ground?” he queried.
The fierce clash is already building momentum as the latest issue arising now is on the percentage of the gate proceeds to be shared on the day as the home team (Hearts) will grab 40 percent and the away team (Kotoko) grab 30 percent.
Kotoko management are demanding for an equal share of the proceeds.