Premier League in danger
The Premier League stands the risk of being thrown into chaos following a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) upholding a case brought before it by Tema Youth against Premier League side, Dreams FC for “fraudulent and fictitious registering of players”.
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Dreams FC were found guilty in a case brought before the Lausanne-based adjudication body in which the plaintiffs demanded that two players — John Owusu and Daniel Gozar, who were on a three-year contract with Amidaus Professionals — were fraudulently registered to play in the Division One League that got Dreams FC promotion to the elite division.
Following that, Tema Youth in 2015 filed a protest to the Appeals Committee of the GFA alleging that Dreams FC used ineligible players during the game between the two sides. In the said appeal, it was alleged that Dreams FC registered with forged names and dates of birth for both Gozar and Owusu.
Subsequently, their appeal was dismissed and Tema Youth were a fined GH¢1,000 for bringing “frivolous protest before the Disciplinary Committee (DC)”, and their appeal for review of the DC’s decision was also dismissed. Not satisfied, Tema Youth went to the CAS to seek some reliefs against GFA.
Among the reliefs they sought, Tema Youth requested that Dreams FC be demoted for fraudulently registering two players with the intention to conceal their true ages and for the plaintiffs to be declared the eventual champions and be promoted to the Premier League.
Following that the GFA wrote to CAS urging it to “dismiss the appeal for lack of merit and/or lack of jurisdiction”. In their submission, the GFA indicated that though it received a protest and based on Article 34 of the GFA Statutes the onus lied on Tema Youth to prove the ineligibility of the players.
After hearing the submission from both sides, the CAS in November 2015 partially upheld the appeal filed by Tema Youth and annulled that of GFA and demanded that the matter be returned to the Appeals Committee of the GFA for review.
GFA was ordered to pay the cost borne for the arbitration and additionally pay CHF 3,000 Swiss francs to Tema Youth as contribution “towards the costs the latter has sustained in connection with these arbitration proceedings”.
Meanwhile, the Administrative Manager of Dreams Football Club, Mohammed Ameenu Shardow, says his outfit is not worried about a decision by CAS to have the GFA recall a protest case involving his side and Tema Youth.
“Dreams FC have no pending case at CAS. The case is between Tema Youth and the GFA so we can’t be bothered about it. For us at Dreams, life still goes on but if at any point in time we are called upon to respond to any of the issues we will be available to respond,” Mr Shardow told the Graphic Sports on telephone yesterday.
On the club’s next line of action, he said “we cannot start thinking about hypothetical situations now. All we can do now is to wait for proceedings”.
For him, Dreams were equipped with competent personalities, including lawyers and business men, who were ready and willing to defend the club wherever and whenever they were called upon.