Nana Yaw Amponsah
The Ghana Football Association’s (GFA) Appeals Committee ruled in favour of Nana Yaw Amponsah, Asante Kotoko’s CEO following his appeal against a decision banning him from all football-related activities in the country.
The adjudicating body overturned the Disciplinary Committee’s decision to ban Amponsah, a shareholder of Division One side Phar Rangers for the next five years after the club decided to withdraw from all GFA competitions without a just cause.
And per the Appeals Committee ruling, shareholders of Phar Rangers are not recognised within the statutes of the GFA and as a result cannot be banned.
The ruling stated, “We note from the Appeal record that the Disciplinary Committee has in addition to imposing sanctions on Phar Rangers as a club, also imposed sanctions on its directors and shareholders on the basis of Article 13 (3) of the GFA Division One League Regulations.
“The Appeals Committee does not see any reference to shareholders in the provision of Article 13 (3) of the GFA Division One League Regulations, thus, officials of the football club cannot be interpreted to include shareholders.”
It added that, “In applying Article 13 (3) of the regulations it is only the capacity of a director that can be subject to sanctions.”
Consequently, and as a matter of urgency, the Appeals Committee has tasked the GFA to consider reviewing Article 13(5) at the earliest convenience to promote fairness and also dismissed the sanction imposed on the directors and shareholders of the club.
By Kofi Owusu Aduonum