Sports
Brand new car for Best Referee not bad idea, but …
Debates about referee decisions are part of the unique culture of football for both players and supporters alike.
Mistakes as a referee, will always happen; such controversy keeps making football more fun to watch.
Indeed, referees have a split second to make a decision and will never always get it right. Of course, no one is calling for perfection. No one is flawless!
However, some of the referees make such atrocious decisions that make you wonder whether they are even fit enough to handle juvenile football.
Now, we have reached a stage where the centre-men should be given no room to make ‘killer’ mistakes and just walk away, leaving in their trail irreparable damage on the affected teams.
That is why one was thrilled by the announcement of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) that the Best Referee of the 2021/22 Premier League season would swagger away with a brand new car. It is good enough motivation.
According to the GFA, the prize will encourage referees to put their best foot forward in the upcoming league season which kicked off last Friday.
“For the Ghana Premier League (GPL), the best referee for the year will take home a car at the end of the season. I’m very sure that our referees will be happy,” said GFA President Kurt Okraku, during the GPL launch, three days ahead of the opener.
“The whole idea is to encourage our referees to be competitive and deliver top-notch performances over the course of the season,” he added.
About 90 Referees and Assistants were selected by the Referees Committee and underwent various training programmes for the 2021/22 campaign, and one expects to see a credible performance from them to make the game dirt-free and more enjoyable.
For such Nights-of-the-Whistle, they should not only be thinking about the ultimate prize (car), but be concerned about the image they live behind – several years after they had retired from the game.
Sixteen years after ‘hanging his famous whistle,’ Italian former football referee, Pierluigi Collina, is still broadly considered to be the best football referee of all time.
The instantly recognisable Collina, a no-nonsense Italian referee – known for his famous bald head and piercing eyes, remains one of the most respected figures in football, 16 years after handing in his shock resignation from officiating, aged 45.
In a glittering 28-year career of refereeing, he took charge of Champions League, World Cup and UEFA Cup finals but for many, it was Collina’s larger-than-life personality that earned him such a respected stature.
He demanded, and in turn, earned respect from players, managers and fans around the world.
If a player decided to misbehave, the Italian would take action, but he was always fair and reasonable.
“You have to be accepted on the field of play not because you are the referee, but because people trust you,” Collina said after retirement.
“This means you can reach the best result a referee can reach, which is to be accepted even when he is wrong.”
This calm but stern approach to officiating earned him FIFA’s “Best Referee of the Year” award six consecutive times between 1998 and 2003.
Indeed, he redefined a role that was previously seen by many as dull.
It is the hope of many that our referees would look up to Collina and some of the finest ‘centre-men’ in the business, to carve out their own niche.
As a matter of fact, we do not need referees to be baited with a brand new car to do their own job. It is not fair. Coming to the pitch with a clean intention of being professional and fair-minded to all, in itself, should serve as enough motivation.
Be that as it may, one can only wish the referees well and hope they repay the trust reposed in them by the FA and the football populace. They must endeavour not to be the reason for which many football enthusiasts would swear not to patronize local football. Again, that would be unjust.
Aside from that, referees would be saving themselves from the unwarranted physical attacks they are often subjected too on the field – and the bout of public criticisms, if they perform their duties proficiently. For now, the ball is in their court to prove us wrong.
PlainTalk with JOHN VIGAH
Ghana Premier League side, Nations FC, may have suffered the drop in the just ended Premier League and are destined for a fresh campaign in the Division One League (DOL).
But they stand a huge chance of remaining in the elite stage of the game as they face Dreams FC in an epic MTN FA Cup final at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium tomorrow at 6pm.
Dreams FC have been there before; going ahead to taste the honours in the 2022-23 season after defeating King Faisal.
Coming from a season that saw them crawl from the initial stages of the league to finish on a respectable fourth position, they come in as strong favourites to double their honours in the nation’s second top football competition.
History favours them in this regard. On their first final, they conquered and based on this, connoisseurs of the game have tipped them to make it ‘two-on-two.’
But Nations FC have been empowered by the age-old adage that “He that is down need fear no fall.”
Nothing can be worse than suffering relegation and exiting the limelight as far as exposure is concerned.
But the FA offers a decent opportunity to make them stay relevant.
Conquering Dreams FC would not just make them MTN FA Cup champions. It will grant them the prestigious slot to represent Ghana in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) second tier club competition- the Confederations Cup.
With Dreams FC harbouring the same ambitions, the stage is, therefore, set for a final that promises to be explosive and uncompromising.
The situation of Nations FC might have come to many as a surprise, considering their promising start to the season, with their defence especially, marshalled by Black Stars defender, Razak Simpson, and colleague central defender, Raymond Grippman, earning a lot of reviews.
But despite the struggles they endured at certain times of their campaign, the MTN FA Cup always provided slices of good fortunes as they managed to navigate their way to the final.
Road to the top
Nations FC began the MTN FA Cup competition on a promising note, enjoying some good runs with a win over DOL Zone Two side, Ebony FC, in the Round of 64.
That landed them in a tricky encounter with another high-flying Zone Two candidate, AshantiGold SC, a side that eventually won the title from the zone to qualify to the Premier League, but escaped.
At the round of 16 stage, they encountered and defeated Ghana Premier League side, Swedru All Blacks, 2-1 to gain progression to the quarter final stage where they edged Berekum Chelsea on penalties.
A dicey semi-final awaited them against Aduana FC in Swedru. It was a game Nations was given little chance to escape considering Aduana FC’s form but once again, they conquered to secure a final berth.
In total, the Abrankese-based club have scored eight goals and conceded only two throughout the competition, making them one of the strongest defensive sides in the tournament.
For Dreams FC, they defeated Division One League Zone Three side, Semper Fi, 2-1 to progress to the next stage of the competition where they accounted for Division Two side, Asanska FC, 2-0.
That handed them a quarterfinal berth where they faced Inter Allies and drew one all before winning 4-3 on penalties.
The happiest moment in their success story was a 3-2 semi-final win over GPL winners, Medeama SC.
With that feat, Dreams have been touted as potential winners as the match comes at a time the Nations FC side may be psychologically down over the weight of the challenge they face in the next season.
However, the competition has gain notoriety for not following any form guide and outcomes mostly coming as major surprises.
In this regard, Dreams may be tipped as favourite candidates but though Nations are wounded, the stakes could revive an insatiable desire to apply the brakes to turn the dreams of Dreams FC into a nightmare.
Support
The support from MTN Ghana has no doubt improved competition among the clubs with the attractive incentive packages for participating clubs.
MTN Ghana, which is celebrating 30 years of operations in Ghana, formally became headline sponsors of the Ghana FA Cup in the 2010/2011 football season after the competition had returned from an eight-year hiatus.
The first edition under MTN sponsorship was won by Nania FC, who defeated Asante Kotoko 1–0 in the final at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Since then, the competition has been known as the MTN FA Cup, with MTN renewing its sponsorship several times — in 2013, 2017, 2020 and again for subsequent seasons.
By Andrew Nortey
The Black Stars have opened camp in Cardiff ahead of next week’s international friendly against Wales.
The team is being taken through training drills by head coach Carlos Queiroz.
Thirteen players trained at Dragon Park on Monday, with others expected to join the squad on Tuesday.
They include Ernest Nuamah, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Jordan Ayew, Caleb Yirenkyi, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Elisha Owusu, Gideon Mensah, Marvin Senaya, Jerome Opoku, Benjamin Asare, Joseph Anang, Solomon Agbasi, and Alidu Seidu.
The Black Stars will train in Cardiff for one week ahead of the international friendly against Wales on Tuesday, June 2, before traveling to the United States of America.
Coach Carlos Queiroz will use the period to assess his players before naming his final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Twenty-six players will be submitted to FIFA on Monday, June 1, as mandated by the competition regulations.
The Black Stars are drawn in Group L with Panama, England, and Croatia. They will open their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto before facing England and Croatia in their other group matches.
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