Kotoko to lose point to Hearts over unqualified player?

Premier club, Accra Hearts of Oak, are determined to wrest the three points from arch rivals, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, despite losing 1-2 to their opponents in their epic premier league match at the Accra Stadium last Sunday.

Hearts, who have dropped to last but one position on the log following the loss to Kotoko, have initiated a protest against their rivals for fielding an unqualified player, Obed Owusu, in their encounter.

According to a Hearts source, Kotoko are guilty of fielding Obed Owusu who was still under suspension for receiving three yellow cards in previous games that he featured in for the Porcupine Warriors.

The player had two yellow cards in the first round of the league in the first week and seventh week matches against Aduana Stars at Dormaa and AshantiGold at Obuasi respectively and received the third yellow in the second round match again against Aduana in Kumasi, Hearts said.

Quoting relevant articles of the GFA Disciplinary Code on cautions to support their claim, the Hearts source first referred to Article 34 (1)(e) which says: “A team commits an offence punishable by forfeiture of a match where it fields an unqualified player”.

But when the attention of the Hearts source was drawn to the fact that the player in question had served the suspension by sitting out in the Elite Cup match and, therefore, was eligible to feature in the game for Kotoko, he disputed it, claiming “the Elite Cup is just a friendly competition and does not fall under the official matches of the FA.”

He then went on to quote Article 29 (1)(a) also of the General Regulations of the FA to explain the non-relevance of the Elite Cup, saying the article covered: “A player who has received a caution in three seperate official matches of the FA (that is, the League and FA Cup competitions)”.

And to clear the lingering doubt, as it were, the Hearts source further cited Article 17 (3) which says inter alia: “If a player receives a caution in three seperate matches of the same GFA official matches, he is automatically suspended from the next official match. The GFA may in exceptional circumstances depart from or amend this rule before the start of a particular competition. Any such decision by the organisers shall be final and binding”.

He pointed out that in the circumstances of the Elite Cup, the rule was not amended before the start of the competition and, therefore, could not be used as an escape route by Kotoko in the protest against them.

If the Hearts protest is upheld, Kotoko will be losing six points from their accumulated points so far and will also be fined.

But a source close to Kotoko yesterday dismissed the claims by Hearts, boasting “Hearts have no case. They are just pleasing themselves.”

It will be recalled that a similar ruling by the FA disciplinary committee recently saw Techiman City win the points from Bolga Man City who fielded an unqualified player in their Division One League match last July 25. Bolga Man City were also fined GH¢3,000.00.