The PLB, Monday, was forced to call off the official launch of the 2017/18 Ghana Premier League which had been scheduled for that night.
Club officials, sponsors, patrons and media had gathered at the forecourt of Ghana FA Secretariat for the event which was to also have the new logo for the county’s top division football revealed.
But about two hours to the scheduled start of the launch, the Premier League Board was served a court injunction by Accra Great Olympics.
BREAKING:
"At 16:10GMT Monday, the GFA was served an injunction by a member, Great Olympics. As a sign of respect to the court, we have called off the launch of the 2017/18 Ghana Premier League" – @ghanafaofficial PLB pic.twitter.com/w6Hpd1FmaB
— Footy-Ghana.com 🇬🇭 (@FootyGhana) February 5, 2018
The court order which was delivered to Ghana FA General Secretary Isaac Addo sought to stop all activities relating to the new league season which sets the Accra-based club aside.
Olympics’ case
Per the 2016/17 Ghana Premier League table, Olympics had suffered relegation to the Division One after finishing 15th on the log.
However, the club for months now has been busy seeking boardroom points with two protest cases against Bechem United and Elmina Sharks which they believed would see them stay afloat. Both cases were thrown out at the initial stages by the Disciplinary Committee but the club appealed.
Great Olympics Board member Fred Pappoe explains what necessitated the court action:
“We have unresolved cases before the GFA which have not been addressed as yet even though we’ve sent them notifications, the last being a letter we sent to them about two weeks ago.
“They replied that we give them some time to consult their lawyers… We agreed but gave them a proviso that they are aware of the programs that they themselves have outlined (calendar) and that if our issues have not been resolved conclusively before the commencement of the league, we would have no option than to advice ourselves and that is what has been done today,” he said.
Footy-Ghana.com summarizes the cases in question below:
- Case 1 against Elmina Sharks
Accra Great Olympics FC (the Petitioner) on Wednesday, October 11, 2017 lodged a protest against Accra Elmina Sharks FC (the Respondent) for allegedly fielding two unqualified players in their Ghana Premier League match played at Nduom Stadium, Elmina on Sunday, October 8, 2017 in contravention of Articles 29(1)(e), 29(2)(a), 34(1)(e) and 34(5)(a) of the General Regulations of the GFA.
The Petitioner alleged that Elmina Sharks FC fielded two players – Samuel Arthur (jersey No. 19) and Farouk Mohammed (jersey No. 8) in the match when the players were unqualified to play in the match and the club had been communicated to on all the caution statements.
DC RULING
The Committee therefore, makes the following decisions:
- That the two players of Elmina Sharks FC, Samuel Arthur and Farouk Mohammed were qualified to play in Matchday 28 of the Ghana Premier League.
- That the Protest of Accra Great Olympics FC against Elmina Sharks FC is hereby dismissed and the match results shall stand.
- That should any party be dissatisfied with or aggrieved by this Decision, the party has within three (3) days of being notified of this Ruling to appeal to the Appeals Committee of the GFA.
Olympics appealed but it has also been shot down
Get the complete Disciplinary Committee and Appeals Committee decisions here.
READ RELATED: 2017/18 GPL Fixture List: Champions Aduana host Liberty, Kotoko to start at WAFA
- Case 2 against Bechem United
Olympics filed a PETITION asking the Disciplinary Committee to impose sanctions on Bechem United for an infraction of the Statutes and Regulations of the Ghana Football Association, to wit, fielding an unqualified player (Joseph Amoah) in the latter’s Matchday 8 match against Bolga All Stars FC, played at Tamale on March 18, 2017.
According to Olympics, the player was cautioned on Matchdays 1, 6 and 7 and ought to have sat out on Matchday 8 of the Ghana Premier League. Olympics prayed that Bechem should suffer forfeiture under Article 34(1)(e) of the General Regulations of the GFA.
DC RULING
“Dismissed for want of jurisdiction.” Olympics sought to invoke the jurisdiction of the Disciplinary Committee with the use of the wrong word “petition” instead of protest in a case which is to cause the forfeiture of a match. The DC refused to “go into the merits of the said petition.”
Get full Disciplinary Committee decision here.
The 2017/18 Ghana Premier League has been scheduled to start on the weekend of February 9-11, 2018.
