GFA Appeals Committee demotes Phar Rangers to Division 3
THE Appeals Committee of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has demoted Phar Rangers from Division One to the Eastern Region Division Three League in accordance with Article 7 (d) of the GFA Regulations.
The five-member Committee, chaired by Mr Agbesi K. Dzakpasu, also banned the club from applying to enter any FA Cup competition for the next two years.
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The committee, which had members such as Mr David Asumda, Ms Eva Okyere, Mr Frank Addo and Mr Abdul Aziz Musah, unanimously dismissed the Phar Rangers appeal to an earlier ruling by the GFA Disciplinary Committee (DC) a few weeks ago.
The ruling furthermore directed the management of Phar Rangers to pay all expenses the GFA might have incurred following the club’s withdrawal from the ongoing MTN FA Cup competition.
Phar Rangers, who were banned for five years by the DC for misconduct after withdrawing from this year’s Division One League (DOL) and FA Cup without any just cause and urging the FA to consider them as defunct, later appealed against a decision, leading to the latest sanctions.
Aside upholding the earlier five-year ban, the appellate body also directed that “the club shall only be allowed to join Eastern Regional Football Association League at the lowest level after the ban.
It stressed that, “A demotion to two levels below Division One, which is Division Three in the Eastern Region, is harsh enough to serve as a deterrent to all clubs participating in the competitions organised by the GFA.”
The committee also directed that players of the club who want to terminate their contracts with Phar Rangers as a result of their demotion to the lower division could apply to the FA Player Status Committee.
It, however, ordered Phar Rangers to fulfil its financial obligations to their players, explaining that “the club has a contract with the players and they must fulfil the financial obligations relating to these contracts.”
The committee also endorsed the DC’s decision that all clubs which were yet to play Phar Rangers should be awarded three points and three goals in accordance with Article 13 (5) of the Division One League Regulations. It, however, urged the GFA to “consider reviewing Article 13(5) at the earliest opportunity to promote fairness.
