Animated Kotoko,Hearts fans slug it out on Joy FM's Ghana Connect

The fierce rivalry between two of Ghana’s biggest football clubs exploded this week following a controversial verdict delivered by the Ghana Football Association Disciplinary Committee.

Both Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak had flirted perilously at the relegation zone this year.

Kokoto managed to crawl its way out of the red zone.

But this week they once again dropped into the relegation zone with just two games to the end of the season.

Kotoko’s fate had not been decided on the football pitch but rather in the boardroom for fielding an unqualified player. They had been deducted six points.

Their bitter rivals, Hearts got 3 of those points and are now well clear of the relegation zone.

It is now very possible one of the greatest teams on the continent will be relegated out of the premier league.

Asante kotoko had fielded “an unqualified player” Obed Owusu in jersey number 7 in the 25th week First Capital Plus Premier League match played at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday, August 02, 2015. The match was between Asante kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak. Kotoko won by 2 goals to one.

Obed Owusu attracted four cautions playing in a GFA sanctioned Competition which automatically disqualified him from playing in the next match. Kotoko therefore did not feature him in their next match which was the Elite Clubs competition. But the GFA per its ruling after a petition by Hearts says that did not count. Which means the player was still on suspension when he played in the Hearts match.

“All ineligible players shall be announced at the pre match technical meetings by the Match Commissioner or in his absence the match referee,” GFA’s own rules state. But many are questioning if the GFA itself complied with that rule during the match between Kotoko and Hearts.

There is a lot of anger but also an equal measure of criticism against a league many despise. So is this latest controversy a further reflection of a dying local league putting Ghanaian football in jeopardy?

Host of Ghana Connect on Joy FM Evans Mensah connected in the studio with die-hard Asante Kotoko man, Jerome who happens to work with the Kotoko Express newspaper. He clashed with dyed-in-the-wool Accra Hearts of Oak fan and spokesperson, Opare Addo.

Evans also hosted a football fan Asantewaa and football scout Eben in the studios.

Right from the start of the show to the very end the Phobia and Fabulous fans disagreed on everything accept one – that the league has not lost its lustre. It still has quality players and good managers in place.

Jerome and Opare Addo quoted copiously from the football governing body’s own rules and regulations to buttress their point that the GFA was wrong or otherwise in its decision against Kotoko.

There is no way a high profile team like Kotoko would field an unqualified player, Jerome argued. He is convinced the appeals committee will bear them out.

Jerome’s wish is an impossibility that will remain so forever, Opare Addo predicted.

At the end of the day, the representatives of the two teams would not bend a little. They stood resolute in their entrenched positions.

As to whose case is tasty and worth swallowing would be determined by a hungry Appeals Committee put together by the same body whose committee ruled against Kotoko.