Avoid unnecessary controversy in our football
Everybody loves clean football, and must have a portion in its beauty! Avoiding unnecessary controversy in our game of passion both on the field of play and in our daily discussion must be one of the contributions to peace and stability every nation craves for. It is obvious there are funny tricks in football, and lovers of the game find out that as they grow.
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Centuries of football might have educated its followers to know the rights and wrongs of the game, and I believe it is not only the referees and their assistants on the field who know everything and go ahead to interpret the rules; no matter the amount of protest that would come from the stands, the expectation is that one does not have to be an avid reader of the laws of the game to master the dangers that constitute foul play, offside and clean goals.
Followers of the game who watch proceedings every day can master the dangers that have for ages caused a lot of havoc to human lives.
Those of us walking along the streets of this country who witnessed the Wednesday, May 9, 2001 stadium disaster will never forget what triggered the anger that led to the lawlessness and the over- reactions of the police that sent 127 sports fans to their graves. We still shake our heads recalling that avoidable disaster, but have we learnt a lesson from that and vowed to correct the wrongs?
Even as we are looking forward to yet another Ghanaian version of the "El-clasico" on Monday, May 2, 2016, what is presently circulating in the minds of the over 35,000 fans that will pay and watch the match between Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko in the revival of the deadly rivalry of our traditional clubs at the nation's Wembley?
Are tempers already not boiling up during radio and television discussions and on the streets, and have we already psyched ourselves as supporters, players and football followers to accept the coming results, be it a win, a draw or a loss?
One can recall what transpired a season ago when a defeated Hearts of Oak raised hell over an unqualified player, and how the case was dragged till the end of the season? Did the fans have a clean match that day, and did the referee and his assistants have the free will to handle and interpret the rules to satisfy everybody?
In our democratic dispensation where every football fan is a critic, how do we come together to accept our referees decisions. Well, a recent case in point was what happened at the Accra Sports Stadium during the match between Hearts of Oak and the West African Football Academy (WAFA).
Football fans had a terrible day watching very little football, but spending the whole afternoon watching comedies where the team from Sogakope, (their adopted home), resorted to time wasting and feigning injury every minute. That diabolic agenda will not help football to grow, and the expectation was that the referee and his assistants would stamp their authority on the game and at least warn WAFA players instead of looking on sheepishly at such episode.
Any independent observer would have wondered whether the officials were fair to Hearts who were in their flair to teach their opponents some football lessons on that day. Besides that, very good observers might have noticed a clean goal scored by Hearts when the ball crossed the goal line and the incident was captured by camera lenses and published in the papers.
What did the referees association say about the goal on noticing that one team was cheated that day and deprived of victory. How can officiating officials do the impossible by failing to see a clean goal?
This is a particular year a football season at the Premier level is suffering from lack of sponsorship. Already so many corporate bodies are complaining they are running at a loss, using too much money to power their heavy generators in recent power outages and having very little left to cater for recreational activities like the sponsorship of a national football league.
And in situations like this, if officials tend to mar the beauty of the game with their controversial decisions, what shall be the fate of the league?
The other day in a radio discussion on the subject, I prayed to the GFA president, Kwesi Nyantakyi, and his association to invite all stakeholders of the game to discuss matters that were killing it. We are carrying our lawlessness too far, and obviously when we face Africa in continental competitions, we will eventually be found wanting.
This coming "El-clasico" must of necessity be a testing ground of good or bad officiating. More people are expected to converge on the Accra Sports Stadium,
Indeed, for all we know Hearts will be happy to break their jinx as losers of the league title for years, but their happiness will be greater if they can manage to overcome their arch-rivals who have been haunting them for some time at their own backyard.
According to some hard-core Kotoko followers, it would have been prudent if David Duncan had been allowed to stay on to face the team he left before signing for Kotoko, as he might find some hidden antidote to Hearts of Oak’s winning formula.
Undoubtedly, Michael Osei's confirmation as a substantive coach of Kotoko will come out of this match, and so much must be expected from him as he lines his charges against Hearts. This is the hour of destiny for Kotoko after their poor show against New Edubiase at the Baba Yara Stadium last Saturday, and that will surely add greater value to the match.
Hearts’ Japanese coach Kenichi Yatsuhashi, who has masterminded a brilliant start for his club, knows he faces the sternest moment in the Kotoko assignment and is aware that the reputation he has built to deserve the supposed increase in his remuneration could be easily eroded if the result of that all-important match is not positive.
You and I know how victory to either side would mean to both coaches and the fans.
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