Sports
A call referees must heed to
- /home/u249204778/domains/spectator.com.gh/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 27
https://spectator.com.gh/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Mr-Mark-Addo-left-exchange-pleasantaries-with-Ref.-Daniel-Laryea.jpg&description=A call referees must heed to', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
- Share
- Tweet /home/u249204778/domains/spectator.com.gh/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 72
https://spectator.com.gh/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Mr-Mark-Addo-left-exchange-pleasantaries-with-Ref.-Daniel-Laryea.jpg&description=A call referees must heed to', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
It’s less than a week since the 2025 AFCON ended in Morocco.
For those that had the privilege to watch it via television, it may have gone into the competition’s annals as one of the best in terms of organisation.
But for the ‘yen bo biom’ (match abandonment) ‘excellently’ staged by the eventual winners, Senegal’s Terranga Lions, AFCON 2025 was beautifully staged and was incident free.
But in the social media age, it is extremely difficult to get every incident wrapped under a cover of darkness.
Videos showed a mix-up at the goal area of Senegal arising from a towel placed near the goal post by goalkeeper Mendy.
But almost a week after, two countries – eventual winners Senegal and Ghana, a non-participant, are still celebrating the gains from the championship.
Streets of Senegal have been filled with fans who wants to catch a glimpse of their heroes.
The victory marked the second time Senegal have been crowned AFCON champions, having won the competition for the first time in 2022.
Characteristic with teams’ success in Africa, they have been handsomely rewarded.
Senegal president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has announced that each member of the AFCON winning squad will be awarded a plot of land on the country’s coastline.
Additionally, each player will receive 75 million CFA francs ($134,000; £100,000).
In Ghana, FIFA Referee and Video Assistant Referee (VAR), Daniel Laryea, has become a cult hero with his encouraging performance, especially in the semifinal game between neighbours Nigeria and Morocco.
Last week, this column amply celebrated him and ordinarily, one would expect the focus to shift; and rightly so, the focus is actually not on him but referees of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) whose action, if not sanctioned, could ruin the gains and image credibility Laryea won for Ghana.
A number of clubs have been complaining recently about the state of officiating in the GPL as others threaten to boycott if the situation does not improve.
Kotoko was among the complainants after a decent goal in their game against Gold Stars was disallowed for a very funny reason.
An incident was also reported from Tema where a referee changed a decision to disallow a goal after watching a video of how the goal was scored on a Smart Phone of a fan.
Those reports, the success story of Daniel Laryea and a call by the Vice President of the Ghana Football Association, Mr Mark Addo on referees to aim higher has occasioned this opinion piece, to perhaps remind referees of their responsibilities in making the game attractive in Ghana and the duty of the FA to crack the whip on erring referees.
The FA Vice President, in presenting FIFA badges to 23 Ghanaian referees including Laryea for the 2026 football season, saying that, “I urge you (referees) to keep your heads high. There is a lot of expectation on you, and you must work hard to maintain the standards required”.
He continued: “Aspire for greatness and aim to become world-class referees. How you are perceived when your name comes up matters. Impartiality, fairness and top-class performance must always guide your work.”
In the face of what is happening, Addo’s call was appropriate and straight to the point.
Referees are vital cogs in the football ecosystem and their doing and undoing could make or unmake the efforts put in by a club. What can be more frustrating than a club scoring a genuine goal to be disallowed wrongly?
Many years ago when Asante Kotoko felt cheated and no one listen to them, they staged ‘ye bo biom’ which should not have a place in football. Senegal has just added an international dimension to it.
This is why the FA must sit up and check the names of referees which are becoming synonymous with undesirable officiating against some particular clubs.
By Andrew Nortey
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
If there is a club Kumasi Asante Kotoko would want to avoid, definitely it would be Kpando Heart of Lions, and not Hearts of Oak.
Kotoko and Hearts have sold to soccer fans some of the electrifying football atmosphere to underline their age-long rivalry.
Despite their stature in Ghana football, however, the lions from Kpando have been the most difficult and toughest opponents for the Porcupine Warriors.
Clashes between Kotoko and Hearts have produced mixed outcomes. It remains one of the few games which outcomes can be very challenging to predict.
But the story with Heart of Lions is straightforward. It hands them the dominance card over Kotoko; making them favourites most of the time when they are paired together.
Tomorrow at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, the Porcupine Warriors would slug it out in their Matchday 2 encounter of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) with Heart of Lions.
Asante Kotoko and Heart of Lions have faced each other in 12 recorded official head-to-head matches, with Heart of Lions holding the upper hand.
They boast six wins, and two for Asante Kotoko, with the rest of the four ending in draws.
As recent as the last three years, Kotoko has been winless in their last six games, registering three draws with the Lions winning three.
This clearly suggests that the Porcupine Warriors would be engaged in another battle of their lives when they welcome Heart of Lions to the Baba Yara Stadium, a venue that has proven to be a comfortable hunting ground for the visitors.
Coming from a 1-1 draw against Debibi United on Matchday 1 and a Democracy Cup victory over Hearts of Oak, Kotoko must be ready to clip the claws of the deadly Lions if they hope to tame them to halt that trend.
The Bibiani Dun’s Park is also expected to be full of fireworks as GoldStars welcome Hearts of Oak.
It will be one that will draw the fans in the area as both sides prepare the game with different agenda. While Hearts emerged 4-0 conquerors of Berekum Chelsea in Accra, GoldStars suffered a 1-0 loss to Bechem United.
The quest to consolidate the week one gains or to bounce back from defeat would conspire to make the game a mouthwatering one.
Swedru All Blacks would also engage Debibi United at the Swedru Stadium while Berekum Chelsea lock horns with Dreams FC at the Golden City Park and Karela against Bechem United.
At the Aliu Mahama Stadium, Karela United will face Bechem United; Young Apostles versus Basake Holy Stars at the Wenchi Stadium while Aduana FC take on Sarmatex.
The round will commence today with a fierce tie between FC Ashantigold versus Vision FC.
By Andrew Nortey
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
When the Greater Accra Region emerged winners of the 35th Inter-Regional Basic Schools Netball Competition at the University of Ghana, Legon, one name stood out above the celebrations: Miss Lilly Akutu Zotorvie, a young shooter from the rural community of Mangoase in the Ada West District.
The Junior High School student of Englishie-Kenya D/A Basic School was the tournament’s standout scorer, netting an astonishing 132 goals in five matches for Team Greater Accra.
That translates into an average of 26.4 goals per match, a remarkable scoring record that has attracted attention from spectators and netball enthusiasts at the competition.
For Miss Zotorvie, however, the impressive statistics tell only part of the story; behind the goals is the journey of a young girl from Mangoase, a community outside Ghana’s major sporting centres, whose talent was discovered at a local netball clinic and gradually nurtured into the regional school competition.
She was reportedly spotted by Mr Ebenezer Kisseh, a journalist and coach, who recognised her potential during a netball clinic.
What could have remained an ordinary community sporting activity instead became the beginning of a promising journey for the young player.
Her performance subsequently earned her an opportunity to compete in the Greater Accra Super Zonal Games, where she impressed enough to progress to the regional level.
At the 35th Inter-Regional Basic Schools Netball Competition, she converted that opportunity into an outstanding individual performance, combining precision, consistency and confidence in front of the post.
Her exploits have also brought renewed attention to the pool of sporting talent that exists in communities far from Ghana’s traditional sporting centres.
For a young player from Mangoase, the progression from a local netball clinic to representing Greater Accra at an inter-regional competition demonstrates the importance of early talent identification and sustained opportunities for development.
Miss Zutorvie’s emergence also presents a reminder that some of Ghana’s promising sporting talents might be found in schools and communities where access to structured training and competitive opportunities remains limited.
Now, after scoring 132 goals in five matches and helping Greater Accra claim the inter-regional title, the young shooter has given coaches, sports administrators and talent scouts another reason to look beyond the country’s major sporting centres.
As Greater Accra celebrates its victory, her performance is likely to remain one of the most memorable individual highlights of the competition – and perhaps the beginning of a much bigger sporting journey for the Ada youngster. -GNA
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
