Kumasi Asante Kotoko Sunday gained a walk over to the semi-finals of the MTN FA Cup as their opponents AshantiGold failed to turn up for the match at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The match originally scheduled for the Kumasi Sports Stadium was shifted to the Accra Sports following a ban on Kotoko home matches.
Ashgold had requested the match to be shifted to the Gyamfi Park at Bekwai, but the organisers insisted on the match coming on at the Accra Stadium.
Mr Kudjoe Fianoo, the CEO of Ashgold told the Daily Graphic that his team boycotted the match because they were not ready to incur additional cost involved in honouring the match outside the Ashanti Region.
He contended that the team, in order not to overstretch its budget, had planned to travel on the day of the match to Kumasi, the original venue of the match, to honour the match and return to Obuasi the same day.
But the new venue of the match, which has been occassioned by ban, would compel them to spend on hotel accommodation before and and after the match.
“We did not get the needed guarantees from the organisers and the Ghana Football Association, that they would share the costs or compensate us”, he stated.
Kotoko showed up for the game and, together with the match officials, waited for Ashgold on the field
After 30 minutes, referee Samuel Gyasi called off the game.
