Referee Oliver Tetteh suspended for the rest of the season

The Match Review panel of the Ghana Football Association has announced decisions on some complaints received from Clubs in the Division One League:

Below are the decisions:

1. MIGHTY ROYALS VS REAL TAMALE UNITED (RTU)- MATCHDAY 9

In their complaint, Real Tamale United wanted to know why the appointed centre referee Eliasu Sintuo Tonsuglo did not show up but rather Referee Oliver who did not attend the pre-match meeting officiated the match. They claimed that the overall performance of the referee and the assistant one was not satisfactory. Also, RTU claimed that in the 69^th minute of the 2^nd half, the referee denied RTU a clear penalty. The complaint also indicated that an official of Mighty Royals rushed onto the field of play in the 74^th minute to intimidate the referee during a temporary hold-up.

RTU also accused the referee of awarding a dubious penalty in favour of Mighty Royals in the 82^nd minute.

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The Match Review Panel observed that the match was officiated by Referee Oliver Tetteh who was appointed by the Referees Committee of the GFA. The panel further observed that on the 69^th minute incident, there was no foul that warranted a penalty as claimed by RTU. The Committee however found that Referee Oliver Tetteh erred by awarding a foul to Mighty Royals when there was no foul committed. It again found that in the 74^th minute, an official from the home team entered the field to push the referee when the game was in progress.

The Match Review panel also noted that in the 82^nd minute, there was no foul committed to award a penalty and that the Referee’s positioning during the incident was wrong.

DECISION

The Match Review Panel found that the errors of the Referee affected the outcome of the match and therefore recommended that he is suspended for the rest of the season. The Panel also referred the Mighty Royals official who rushed onto the field of play to be referred to the Disciplinary Committee of the GFA.

2. NSOATREMAN VS WAMANAFO MIGHTY ROYALS (MATCHDAY 12)

Mighty Royals complained that between the 18^th to 26^th minute, a dubious penalty was awarded to Nsoatreman FC. They also claimed that between the 35^th-44^th minute, Mighty Royals were denied a clear penalty.

After watching the match, the Match Review Panel did not see any of the incidents mentioned in the complaint. The Committee also found that the 1^st half of the game showed only 6 minutes and the rest of the video was not available.

DECISION

The Match Review Panel therefore recommended that the raw footage of the match be submitted to GFA and the Cameraman, Mark Sasu who was appointed for the match should be investigated.

3. FC SAMARTEX 1996 VS SEKONDI HASAACAS (MATCH DAY 8)

Sekondi Hasaacas complained about a penalty which was awarded to first half of the match. They further claimed that player Philip Hamini was slapped by an opposing player in the clear view of the Assistant one which should have attracted more than a yellow card. Again they claimed that, a player was brought down in the full glare of the referee , Joseph Kwofie.

After watching the video of the match, the Review panel found that the video had been tempered with and greater part of it was blank.

DECISION

The Match Review panel decided that the Cameraman assigned for the match must be investigated and be made to submit the raw video footage to the GFA for further investigation.

4. ACHIKEN FC VS BIBIANI GOLD STARS (MATCHDAY 9)

Achiken FC claimed that they were denied a penalty in the 73^rd minute of the match after a player of Gold Stars touched the ball in the penalty box.

However after watching the video, the Review panel found that there was no handball offence as such there’s no penalty.

DECISION

The Match Review panel found that there was no foul and that Referee Godwin Tordzro did not err and is therefore exonerated.