The Chairman of Central Region based Elmina Sharks Football Club Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom is unhappy with what he called unfair treatments being meted out to some football clubs including his own. This ‘unfair treatment’ he said are being perpetrated by match officials in the ongoing Ghana Premier League (GPL).
Dr. Nduom alleged that match officials (referees & match commissioners) are doing all they can to protect big clubs like Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak against other teams whenever these clubs clash in the GPL, saying that Kumasi and Accra – based teams get preferential treatment from some GFA and match officials.
He indicated that the Ghana Premier League is not only Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak. “The two teams don’t constitute our league“, Dr. Ndoum said adding that without the other teams, there would not be a national league.
Dr. Nduom’s concerns came after the Week 25 fixture between Hearts of Oak and Elmina Sharks at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday, where Referee Maxwell Kofi Owusu, awarded a penalty against the Elmina Club. The referee also gave a red card to one of the Sharks’ players leading to a goalless game to the advantage of the home team.
Commenting on the game, the Chairman and Bankroller of Elmina Sharks Football Club could not hide his displeasure as he complained about the incident through text message to the President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt Okraku, asking him to take action before the GPL deteriorate further.
He added that club owners in the country are facing difficult times in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, and wondered why match officials who try to mar the beauty of the game with their poor decisions “cannot be punished by the GFA to serve as a deterrent”.
