Heart Accuse GFA Of Sabotage

ACCUSATION of ‘sabotage’, reminiscent of a deep stab in the back, flying from the camp of Accra Hearts of Oak and directed at the GFA, has given a fresh dimension to the club’s heavy defeat in Luanda, Angola, last Sunday. Added to this dilemma is another ‘ghost’ letter purported to have been sent from Hearts’ quarters condemning the Professional League Board’s (PLB) decision to postpone the two outstanding league matches involving Hearts and RTU, and Kotoko and Goldfields.

Beneath Hearts’ 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Athletico Aviacao in the CAF Champions League second round first leg game is the allegation of sabotage against the GFA which robbed Hearts of the services of their new signing from Power FC Daniel Coleman, in the match.A concern by the FA, expressed through General Secreatary, Mr Kofi Nsiah, over Hearts’ use of their new signing, Daniel Coleman, in last Sunday’s game has left the club asking several questions.

In a correspondence to Hearts two days before the match while they were in Angola, the FA, in a letter signed by Mr Nsiah, cautioned Hearts on the implications of their use of the player in the said match, claiming that “The Football Association’s attention has been drawn to the fact that you could not finalise negotiations on the release of Daniel Coleman to enable him play for your club in the CAF matches.”

“You are being advised to take note and suspend the use of the player in your matches while we make every effort to clear the matter with CAF,” read the letter that communicated the FA’s position on the player’s status to Hearts.But Hearts say the correspondence was uncalled for, and that they believe it was rather intended to deprive them of the quality services Coleman would have rendered to the team’s campaign in Luanda.

Coleman joined Hearts from Power FC after their play-off to determine the last team to join the premiership against Ebusua Dwarfs and Hearts say they have met all requirements concerning the player’s registration. Coleman, indeed, was one of 27 players registered by Hearts through the GFA for this year’s CAF Champions League campaign, but could not feature for the club as he was committed to the course of Power in their play-off.

A Hearts source who spoke to the Graphic Sports in an interview expressed surprise at the FA’s late decision to convey the fears, and questioned what might have motivated Mr Nsiah to do that.The source made reference to Kotoko’s registration of Daniel Yeboah from Liberty Professionals, Kwame Adjagba from RTU and Michael Asante from Great Olympics, and said the circumstances under which they were registered for Kottoko’s continental campaign are no different from what pertained in the case of Hearts and Coleman. The three players all featured for Kotoko last Sunday in their 2-2 drawn game against Mount Cameroun in the Cup Winners Cup series.

“Shouldn’t the FA have informed us earleir when we submitted our list of registered players to it?” the source asked. When the Graphic Sports contacted the FA general secretary, he denied ever speaking to Hearts on the issue and declined to make any further comments on the subject.But the Hearts source emphasised that Mr Nsiah did speak to the club’s Chief Executive Thomas Okine who initially proved adamant on the subject.

In another case, Hearts arrived last Wednesday night only to learn of a correspondence supposedly signed by Mr Okine questioning the rationale behind the Professional League Board’s decision to reschedule their outstanding league match against RTU as well as the one between Kotoko and Goldfields.A statement issued by Mr Okine dissociated Hearts from the earlier publication having regard to a request Hearts themselves had made for the postponement of their match.

The statement said “In as much as the club would complain and protest against unfairness and any other action that militate against our interest. We would not make it a policy to antagonise anybodyand , sincerely apologise for the inconvenience the said letter might have caused, though it never emanated from the club”.