Desist from entertaining visiting Referees - GFA warns
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 September 2001 - The Chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Mr Ben Koufie, has stated that a highly respected and competent local referee has been appointed to handle the titanic league duel between arch rivals Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak at the Kumasi Stadium on Sunday.
The referee’s name would however be made public just before the match.
Mr Koufie who was speaking in a radio interview at Sunyani last Wednesday said there was no need going in for a foreign referee as that would send wrong signals about Ghana football, and also give other clubs the chance to ask for foreign referees to handle their matches whenever they deem necessary.
He described the local referee appointed for the match as someone who has a track record in handling matches between the two glamorous clubs in the country.
“I can assure you, the referee is competent enough to handle the game effectively”, Mr Koufie told the radio.
He expects a good game from the two big clubs in the country on Sunday. He noted that officials of the two clubs are themselves bent on ensuring an incident-free match on Sunday, which is good for Ghana football.
Mr Koufie assured that security measures that have been put in place are enough to forestall any nasty situation.
He said no alcoholic drinks would be sold at the Stadium on Sunday, and appealed to football fans to bear in mind that football is meant to ensure peace and not to wage war.
GRi…/
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo Region) 14 August 2001 - The case in which a 22-year old football fan, Samuel Ofori Gyasi, has been charged for assaulting the referee in last Sunday’s premier league match between Sunyani based Bofoakwa Tano and Kumasi Asante Kotoko, has taken a dramatic turn with the police indicating that it was rather one Isa Amadu, the ball-boy of Kotoko, who emerged from the Kotoko bench to attack the referee.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Yartey Tawiah told the tribunal trying Ofori Gyasi on Thursday that the police have got hold of a video clip on the match, which established that it was Amadu who hit referee Kwame Ghartey with the hard studs of a football boot and not Ofori Gyasi.
He said the Police are making frantic efforts to arrest Amadu and at the appropriate time the video clip would be shown to the court to prove that he was the real culprit.
Consequently, the tribunal presided over by Mr C.A. Wilson, revoked the remand order it imposed on Ofori last Monday.
Ofori Gyasi, a second year University student was remanded last Monday by the tribunal to re-appear on September 17.
But following an application filed by his counsel, Mr Solomon Oppong Twumasi at the tribunal on Thursday, he was granted bail in the sum of ¢1 million with a surety to be justified.
He is to re-appear on September 17.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 14 September 2001-Executives of Premier League clubs have been warned to stop entertaining match officials appointed to handle their matches with immediate effect.
"The gesture has posed a lot of problems and apprehensions for opposing teams leading to some of the unfortunate scenes during and after league matches", the Ghana Football Association (GFA) said on Thursday.
A statement signed by Mr Kwaku Ampim-Darko, acting General Secretary of the GFA said attention of the Management Board had been drawn to the fact that visiting match officials are entertained by host teams after technical meetings preceding matches.
"Even though it is a good idea normally to host visitors, the practice does not help in the development of football in the country".
The statement warned that all club executives who contravene this directive would be sanctioned.
GRi…/
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