GPL SUPERCLASH: Opoku Nti supports foreign referees for Hearts-Kotoko title decider

Ghana football legend Samuel Opoku Nti has suggested to the Ghana Football Association to appoint a set of foreign referees for the upcoming Premier League showdown between Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko.

Ghana’s two glamorous clubs clash in a GPL title decider on Sunday June 27 at the Accra Sports Stadium. The two are currently tied on 53 points atop the GPL standings although Hearts of Oak hold the advantage by virtue of a superior goal difference.

The buildup to the game has been heated especially concerning officiating. In a season where refereeing errors have characterized most of the GPL matches, there are calls from a section of the football following to get foreign referees to handle the match.

Opoku Nti shares in such a stance and he disclosed this during an interview with Kumasi based radio station, Silver 98.3 FM.

Opoku Nti first shared his assessment of the overall performance of referees in the 2020-21 season.

“As for the referees, some are faring better, some also have question marks hovering around their performances. At times some make genuine mistakes, but it is my prayer that they stick to the laws of the game and give us better officiating,” Opoku Nti told Silver FM.

“Some of the referees have been awarding contentious penalties and they need to be careful. Because we are approaching a big game with both Kotoko and Hearts on the same number of points. So we need to try our best to minimize human errors that could impact the outcome of the game”, he added.

“In my personal opinion, I will prefer a foreign referee. This is not to say our Ghanaian referees are not up to the task, but considering the tensions building up ahead of the Kotoko vs Hearts game.

“If a foreign referee who has no ties with either of the two clubs makes a mistake, people would not read meanings into it like they would for a local referee.

“If the Ghana FA would listen to this advice, then they should go ahead and appoint a foreign referee for that match”, Opoku Nti ended.