Accra Great Olympics feel insecure by the actions of the Ghana Football Association and have applied for an injunction pending appeal on the start of the 2017/18 Ghana Premier League.
Last week, an Accra High Court presided over by Justice Anthony Yeboah refused to grant an interlocutory injunction request by Great Olympics to stop the Ghana FA from going ahead with the new season without the club.
Olympics suffered relegation at the end of the 2016/17 Ghana Premier League but contend they reverse will happen if the FA applied its rules in some pending cases at the Appeals Committee.
In refusing their request, the trial judge, in the morning of Wednesday February 21, established that Olympics had a prima facie case but based on the balance of convenience, he refused to go into the merits of the injunction application because it would cause the league a further delay which would harm many other parties and stakeholders. The judge asked that both parties settled their differences amicably but can revert to the court should there be no headway.
Later in the afternoon, the Ghana FA hurriedly organized its Ordinary Congress and as per status, declared the relegated teams from the previous season and the newly promoted clubs.
In all these, Olympics feel sidelined and that the actions of the Football Association indicates it is not ready to adhere to the counsel by the court anytime soon.
Great Olympics’ General Manager Oluboi Commodore has confirmed the club’s latest move.
”We have applied for injunction pending appeal.
“We have served the GFA and the league won’t come on this weekend. “It’s not our intention to stop the league but we need justice. The league can’t be played without Olympics,” he said.
Commodore added:
“We’re not satisfied with the ruling that ‘delaying the league will affect the rest and that if the Football Association is eventually found culpable they should compensate us financially.’ “A court said same to King Faisal; it’s been four years since then, nothing has happened.”
The start of the league this Friday is now in doubt by the application for injunction pending appeal by Great Olympics.
Background
On Monday February 5, Great Olympics filed for an injunction to halt preparations towards the start of the new top flight season over unresolved issues before the Appeals Committee of the GFA they believed could ensure their Premiership status.
Olympics placed 15th last season and thereby suffered relegation to the Division One League. But the club had two outstanding cases at the Appeals Committee of the Ghana FA against Elmina Sharks and Bechem United.
Both cases, which had been thrown out by the Disciplinary Committee, bordered on player eligibility for some specific games last season.
Olympics maintained they had a case and appealed but the GFA appeared to have ignored them and went ahead with plans for the new Ghana Premier League season.
