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Kwesi Nyantakyi (LEFT) — Leads the GFA group and Amarkai Amarteifio — Leads the Olympics group
Kwesi Nyantakyi (LEFT) — Leads the GFA group and Amarkai Amarteifio — Leads the Olympics group

GFA, Olympics meet again over standoff

The top brass of Accra Great Olympics and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) will today continue a discussion began last Friday, in the quest to find an early and amicable solution to legal battles that have created a standoff between the two sides and held up the start of this year’s football season.

Last week Olympics placed an injunction on the commencement of the Premier League and Division One League pending the settlement of a case in court which threatens to throw the football season out of gear. And while the two parties attempt to find a middle ground outside court, the FA has reportedly filed for an abridgement of time from March 15 to March 8, for the speedy resolution of the case brought against it by Olympics.

At last Friday’s meeting, the FA team led by its president, Kwesi Nyantakyi, including 14 other members of the Executive Committee, gave the option to Olympics to put their cards on the table at which the Amarkai Armarteifio-led group tabled a proposal for an 18-club league to help resolve the impasse. Today’s meeting is expected to find a settlement to avoid a long drawn legal battle in courtroom as demanded by Justice Anthony Yeboah, a justice of the High Court in Accra who two weeks ago rejected an application by Olympics for an injunction on the league.

Olympics’ team at last Friday’s meeting included lawyers, Kofi Bentil and Richard Oblitei Solomon, as well as Fred Pappoe, Fadi Fattal and Oloboi Commodore, all executives of the club.

Before the two sides could meet, the FA went ahead to launch this season’s Premier League a week ago, an action considered by Olympics as betrayal of trust and which compelled them to go back to court to get a restraining order against the start of the league.

As part of the reliefs they are seeking, Olympics, in an affidavit in support of the motion on notice for an order for an interlocutory injunction pending appeal, have also prayed the High Court to halt the start of the Premier League and the Division One League, “until the final determination of the plaintiffs appeal”.

The club further ordered for an Interlocutory Injunction (Mandatory) compelling the GFA to hear and determine the petitions lodged by the plaintiff and to apply sanctions for fielding ineligible players as applicable within two weeks or as the honourable court may determine”.

Olympics have argued that should the Premier League and Division One League be allowed to go on, any judgment by the court either on appeal or in respect of the suit itself will be worthless.

Recalling the instances leading to the court injunction, the court order explained that “as part of football matches scheduled during the 2016/2017 Premier League competition, Olympics played against Elmina Sharks on October 8, 2017 (Match Day 28) and against Bechem United on October 22, 2017 (Match Day 30).

It said on October 25, 2017, the plaintiff filed a petition with the association against Bechem United for fielding an ineligible player, Joseph Amoah (Jersey No. 20) in respect of a Match Day 8 fixture between Bolga All Stars vs. Bechem United.

“Joseph Amoah, the said player of Bechem United, had received cautions in Match Days 1, 6 and 7 per the association’s record but did not sit out the said Match Day 8 fixture”.

It said the said petition was referred to the Disciplinary Committee (DC) of the association by the general secretary of the defendant.

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