Faisal lose Round 1

A human rights court hearing the case between King Faisal FC and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) yesterday quashed one of three cases brought before it by King Faisal.

The court dismissed the case involving Faisal and the GFA and the Disciplinary Committee contesting that the GFA was a private entity and, therefore, the court could not dismiss a decision by the Disciplinary Committee. 

Alhaji Gruzah, owner of King Faisal, was seeking an order of judicial review by the court to quash the decision of the case between it and the GFA, the Disciplinary Committee, the Appeals Committee and Aduana Stars.

But the GFA, led by its lawyer, Thaddeus Sory, took a preliminary objection that the remedy of judicial review was available only against a public body and not private a body.

This was upheld by the court which agreed that the GFA was a private body and was not subject to judicial review although King Faisal raised an objection that the FA had contract with its members of which King Faisal was a member.

But Alhaji Gruzah told the Graphic Sports that the court only challenged the locus of their application when they were expected to submit a writ because the GFA was a private entity. 

The legal tussle between the GFA and King Faisal has been the reason for the delay of the local league as Faisal are challenging their relegation from the top flight football, claiming Aduana Stars failed to pay a fine incurred from a protest they lost against Accra Hearts of Oak.

By the FA statute, any club that fails to pay their fine within 14 days would forfeit points from matches played afterwards and Faisal have, therefore, asked the GFA to apply that statute by deducting points from Aduana Stars' for breach of the statute.