Ashford Tettey Oku advises Ghana Football Association to concentrate on the playoffs after FIFA rulings

Ashford Tettey Oku has urged the Ghana Football Association (GFA) not to be dragged down by the South African Football Association’s (SAFA) actions in obtaining an unwanted rematch in their World Cup qualifying match.

”For me, the matter is closed but if SAFA decides to appeal then that’s another matter. But the FA must stay focused because the decision is that we have qualified and they must prepare for the playoff,” Mr Oku told Graphic Sports in an exclusive interview last Saturday.

He accordingly urged the FA to immediately focus on World Cup playoff preparations and not be worried even if SAFA decides to seek justice from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after FIFA rejected its case against Ghana.

His recommendation follows FIFA’s decision last Friday to dismiss SAFA’s case against Ghana for match manipulation and bribery during their last group game of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers against the Black Stars, which concluded 1-0 in favor of the Ghanaians on November 14 at the Cape Coast Stadium.

While asking SAFA to abandon any plans to take the issue to CAS, the former Premier League Board (PLB) chairman stated that any judgement opposite to what was given would be a miscarriage of justice and a stain on FIFA’s reputation.

”As far as I’m concerned, any other decision apart from what was delivered by FIFA last week would be scandalous,”

Even though he was yet to apprise himself with the details of the ruling, Mr Oku explained that the verdict was delivered based on two main regulations by FIFA which clearly state the grounds on which a protest was admissible, adding that the SAFA’s protest did not meet those requirements.

Buttressing his argument with Clause 46 (4) which deals with admissibility of protests, plus other articles in the FIFA Statutes, the vice chairman of the GFA Player Status Committee explained that SAFA’s claims could not stand the test of time with regard to the rules of FIFA, hence the decision to dismiss it.

The man, whose firm has arbitrated and won several high-profile issues for Ghanaian players and clubs at FIFA and CAS, believed that, despite the fact that CAS has reversed certain FIFA judgments in the past, SAFA’s case was dead on arrival and that pursuing it any further would be a waste of their time.

He argued that the grounds on which SAFA objected were not based on any of the standards needed by FIFA for World Cup qualifications infractions that may prompt FIFA to compel a replay, which included a player’s ineligibility and the bad condition of a pitch.

”They (SAFA) didn’t have a case at all. Here, the decision was simple and that is why FIFA said the case was inadmissible. Inadmissible because the article under which FIFA was determining the matter had given about five conditions by which a World Cup protest of a preliminary match must fulfill,” he explained.

On the topic of refereeing error, he indicated that FIFA does not consider it during such protests since errors are unavoidable, but the only thing FIFA can do is remedy the fault and, at most, discipline the referee, but it cannot be used as a basis to request a replay.