Taylor Wahala: Critical Correspondence

GFA writes to FIFA Our Ref: GFA/60/VOL.IV 22nd July, 2003 Head of Player Status Legal Services FIFA “A” Attn: Mr Gianpaolo Monteneri Re: The Player Charles Taylor With reference to our telephone conversation this morning, please find attached the dossier on the above subject matter. Sir, the following sanctions were imposed: 1) ¢650,000,000 to be paid by the player to Hearts of Oak the club he unilaterally abrogated this contract with. 2) ¢200,000,000 to be paid by the inducing club (Asante Kotoko) to Hearts of Oak. 3) The player was on a monthly salary of ¢700,000 (equivalent of US$85.00). The total compensation to be paid by player and Kotoko is ¢850,000,000.00 (equivalent of US$100,000). 4) A ban of four (4) months has been imposed on the player. Sir, kindly confirm to us whether after the fulfilment of the sanctions and the fine, the former club has the right to demand further transfer fees from the club that induced the breach. Again the status of the player after the fine and the sanctions must be clearly explained. We are sorry for the inconvenience we might have caused you as regards this issue ad hope that this will end the matter. Your urgent response in this matter would be highly appreciated. Thank you. (Sgd). KOFI NSIAH GENERAL SECRETARY FIFA’s Response TELFAX Ghana Football Association “B” Mr Kofi Nsiah General Secretary 23rd July 2003 Zurich. Player Charles Taylor, Ghana Dear Sir, We refer to the above-referenced matter and would like to acknowledge receipt of your fax dated July 22, 2003. First of all, we understand the importance of the present matter, which can be undoubtedly considered as a leading case for your federation. In this respect, and without entering into the details of the present affair, we note that your Football Association, after an investigation, has come to the conclusion that the player, Mr Charles Taylor has breached his contract with the club Hearts of Oak and that the club Asante Kotoko has induced the above-mentioned player to such breach. Based on this consideration, your Football Association has granted some financial amounts to the club Hearts of Oak, for having suffered this breach. Furthermore, we note that the player has been suspended due to the breach of contract. The club Hearts of Oak is due the financial amounts decided by your football association as compensation for the breach of the contract. We deem consequently that no other amount is due. Furthermore, considering that the contractual relationship between the player Charles Taylor and the club Hearts of Oak is terminated due to the breach, we deem that the player can join the club Asante Kotoko after the expiry of his period of suspension. We thank you for your taking note of the above. Yours faithfully, FIFA (Sgd). Gianpaolo Monteneri Head of Player's Status Legal Services GFA writes to Hearts, Charles Taylor & Kotoko 25th July 2003 Our Ref: GFA/57/VOL.2 The Chief Executive Accra Heats of Oak S.C.L. Mr Charles Taylor, Accra THE IMC Chairman Asante Kotoko FC Status of player Charles Taylor By letter No. GFA/60/Vol.IV dated July 22, 2003, the GFA sought FIFA's clarification on the status of player Charles Taylor upon the payment of the compensation of ¢650 million to Accra Hearts of Oak and after he has served the four (4) month suspension imposed on him for unilateral breach of his contract with Accra Hearts of Oak. Copy of our letter is attached, herewith, and marked as Annexure "A". Please find attached also and marked Annexure "B" FIFA's reaction to our letter. With this communication from FIFA, it is the view of the GFA that the status of player Charles Taylor has been determined. Solicitors of Charles Taylor have written to the GFA denying the payment by Accra Hearts of Oak of any enticement fee. This matter is being investigated. The GFA will make a statement on it after completion of its investigation. (Sgd). KOFI NSIAH GENERAL SECRETARY cc: THE PRESS Hearts Write To GFA The General Secretary GFA Accra 25/7/03 Dear Sir WITHOUT PREJUDICE STATUS OF CHARLES TAYLOR Your letter afore-captioned of July 25, 2003 refers The said letter and FIFA's advice attached thereto was silent on whether our club, even if is the former club of Charles Taylor, is entitled to compensation for training or/development in accordance with the provisions of article 31 (2) (ii) of the GFA regulations once the player concludes a contract with a new club. We would be grateful if you could give us a reply by the close of work on Monday, July 28, 2003. (Sgd). ERNEST THOMPSON BD SEC. cc: Chairman Ahosel Hearts write to Graphic 24th July , 2003 The Sports Editor Daily Graphic Accra Dear Sir, Re: Another Turn In The Charles Taylor Affairs Kotoko Accuse Hearts of Fraud The above-mentioned publication on page 31 of the July 24, 2003 edition of the Daily graphic refers. We initially decided to disregard the publication coming from a man whose supposed legal expertise has never been able to bail out his club and management from the persistent fumblings and bunglings in a seemingly simple contract/transfer matter which any club owned by any Supermarket Manager in the rural area could resolve easily. We also thought a lot of useful time should be expended to resolve this matter to enable Charles Taylor, n spite of all the ill advise made available to him by people like Yaw Boafo, pursue his career. Given that the player's lawyer had written to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) on the matter, we are just waiting for the GFA's action to enable us react accordingly. Of course we know very well that the GFA would never allow itself to be distracted by this red herring of an exposure when it knew the full facts surrounding the contract sum agreed on by both parties, how much was paid and how it was paid to the player. However, for the sake of the public we write to debunk Yaw Boafo's gaffe and also state our position as follows: 1. Hearts of Oak as an institution never issued any ADB cheque to the player Charles Taylor as consideration. 2. The part payment of the inducement fee on March 7, 2003 was a credible cash transaction between Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club Limited (acting per its Chief Executive Thomas Okine) and Charles Taylor witnessed by his own brother Seth Adjei and George Himmans who, apart from being a management member, was also the Guardian of the player. 3. The player duly acknowledged same and, this was witnessed by his brother who finally lifted the amount. 4. That George Himmans as the guardian of the player was confirmed by Charles Taylor and corroborated by Seth Adjei at the Adjoa Wangara Hotel Fact Finding Meeting. In fact they spoke highly of George Himmans. 5. Whatever happened between the player/his brother and guardian the moment they left the presence of Mr Thomas Okine had nothing to do with Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting club Limited and, this is where somebody like Yaw Boafo should advise the player. 6. In any case, assuming without admitting that there had been a problem somewhere, what is Yaw Boafo and for that matter Kotoko's stake in a case between an employer and employee? 7. In any case, again the findings at Adjoa Wangara upon which the GFA registered the player for Hearts supersedes any other evidence. It is obvious that in his unreasonable haste to a direct road to error, naivety and gross ignorance he ended up confusing the public the more by saying that an account was non-existent and in another breadth quoted an account number. He also abandoned all the decency and decorum expected of a lawyer and rather resorted to argumentum ad hominiem and attacked the personalities of Thomas Okine, Ernest Thompson and Randy Abbey. This was most unfortunate. Yaw Boafo, apart from the above, imputed fraud and criminality to Accra Hearts of Oak and indicated their intention to "pursue the case to its logical conclusion to prevent any future occurrence". We urge him on. We have also given him 48 hours to: i) Publish the ADB cheque issued by Hearts of Oak both in the Graphic as well as the Kotoko Express which had continuously carried tendentious reports about a supposed dud cheque which never was and, ii) Report the matter to the Police for appropriate action. These actions will be in tune with the steps he claimed they would take to rid Ghana soccer of this type of "great deception against the public and disgrace to the soccer fraternity" provided he had not forgotten that this type of crime was first perpetrated by Kotoko in the matter of the dud cheque issued to Goldfields for the transfer of Isaac Boakye and Nana Arhin Dua. This is not to mention the shameful and disreputable act of kidnapping a player at this stage of our civilisation. Finally, free counsel to Yaw Boafo. Ghana soccer has benefited tremendously from the expertise of Lawyers like Messrs W. Frank Sawyer, Allotei Coffie, J. T. Offei, George Osekere, J. K. Tawiah and S A X Tsegah. Their depth of knowledge, ability to analyse situations and draw impeccable logical conclusions was lauded by all. In contemporary Ghana football, others like Professor Kofi Kumado, Messrs JEK Edzie, K. Bram Larbi, Ernest Thompson, R. O. Solomon and Frank Davis and many more have and still continue to make meaningful contributions. They radiate wisdom and myrrh. They generate light and not heat. From the very day Charles Taylor told them that he had neither signed any contract as well as CAF and GFA registration cards nor received any consideration via the stage-managed radio interviews which he Boafo in particular parroted to nauseating levels till the bare facts were known at Adjoa Wangara, which made him recoil shamefully into his shell, he as a learned person should have learnt that it pays for one to think twice before opening his mouth. Yours faithfully, (Sgd). ASHFORD TETTEY OKU ADMIN. MANAGER