Bring back our points

Kotoko strongly believe the Ghana Football Association (GFA)’s Disciplinary Committee got it wrong. They got their ruling on the Hearts of Oak-Obed Owusu eligibility case terribly wrong and until the points are restored, managers of Kotoko will neither sleep nor rest, because the millions of fans that follow the club will not forgive them whether or not they are responsible for what is happening.

What the fans know (and management agrees with them) is that, the decision by the GFA’s Disciplinary Committee to dock the club six points was completely flawed regardless of how Hearst of Oak and their sympathizers in the media push the argument over what the definition of the GFA’s official matches are and what they are not.  

Kotoko have not contested that operational definition clearly stated in Article 5(5). Kotoko’s contention has to do with the apparent illogicality of the argument that, matches played in a competition sanctioned and approved by the GFA cannot be termed as official matches solely because, certain articles in the GFA’s law books say so.

What about the special rules set by the GFA for the Elite Clubs Cup competition? While I wouldn’t blame Hearts of Oak for taking advantage of a flaw in the GFA’s law books, it is absolutely ridiculous thinking and wondering about how the GFA could organize the Elite Clubs Cup competition, take fines from participating clubs whose players were shown red cards only for the Disciplinary Committee to rule that, matches in the suspended competition were not official.

If matches in the Elite Clubs Cup were not official matches, what were they? Were they trial matches? Wasn’t the same GFA that said the Elite Cup would be a major feature on the local calendar? Why were fines taken by the GFA for red card offences for example? 

Unless I’m so ignorant of football rules world-wide, I don’t know of any friendly competition in which clubs whose players are shown red cards pay fines for the punishment slapped on their players

Certainly, the GFA’s Disciplinary Committee ought to come again on this case. That’s why Kotoko’s decision to appeal the ruling is the right direction. At the Appeals Committee, Kotoko have the chance of having the initial ruling reversed. As I noted in media interviews throughout last week, Kotoko ought not to be punished if it was the GFA that created the “illegal” Elite Clubs Cup competition.

Since the Disciplinary Committee ruling came out, Kotoko have been misrepresented by a number of media commentators and I believe it is essential that, records are set straight. Nowhere has Kotoko said that, Obed Owusu didn’t receive the said yellow cards or that, Kotoko managers didn’t know that the player accumulated a certain number of cards that barred him from playing. Those using that weak premise to slam Kotoko must stop.

There is no doubt that, Kotoko just like most clubs in Ghana have leadership issues to solve but then, this case has nothing to do with any supposed leadership incompetence. The case however has everything to do with the GFA’s Disciplinary Committee misfiring or misruling.

As Kotoko people, let’s rally behind management to fight the GFA’s legal body in pursuit of the unjustly deducted points. This is not the time to burn our management for a wrongdoing not committed by them. It is necessary that, the Board of Directors of Kotoko have made their position known on the case.

What I like most about the Board of Directors’ position is their stance that, “Kotoko reserves the right in the supreme interest of Ghana football to take all necessary action to protect the sanctity of the league and the interest of all clubs”. That’s a strong position no one should take for granted. If that would mean going to every reasonable and acceptable length to have the Disciplinary Committee’s ruling overturned, we should support it.

Nobody on the GFA’s Disciplinary Committee can take Kotoko cheap. That message should be sent clearly and boldly to them. Kotoko isn’t so docile to accept anything forcibly pushed down its throat. If there’s any other way of “saving” a club on the brink of the dreadful relegation; it shouldn’t be at the expense of Kotoko because that will be strongly resisted.