Nungua-based Danbort FC have appealed to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to re-instate them into the Division One Zone 3 League, following the demotion of Inter Allies into the third tier.
A petition signed by Benjamin Sevor (Esq) of the Akanova Legal in Accra, on behalf of Danbort FC, said Danbort would not have been relegated if the DC’s decision had been expeditiously delivered.
“We state that the decision of the Disciplinary Committee regarding the match-fixing allegation, if it had expeditiously been delivered would have afforded Danbort FC to remain in the Division One Zone 3 league because Danbort FC finished 13th in the 16-club race.
“This is because the rule is that where it was found by the Disciplinary Committee that the affected parties were guilty of the offence of match-fixing, the imposition of a sanction of demotion or suspension against Inter-Allies FC would have meant that a team is brought from the Relegation Zone to add up to the list of participating teams in the 2021/2022 Division One Zone 3 league, in which case, the immediate beneficiary team would be Danbort FC.
“However, this process was utterly ignored and the GFA is rather planning other unprecedented means to replace the vacancy that has been created in the Division One Zone 3 league, instead of bringing on board Danbort FC which suffered relegation through no fault of theirs,” the six-page petition, which was presented to the GFA yesterday, stressed.
AshantiGold SC and Inter Allies were demoted to the third tier (Division Two) by the GFA Disciplinary Committee (DC) after they were found guilty on May 16, 2022, of engaging in match-fixing in a Premier League game during the 2020/2021 season.
Initially, Allies were relegated into Division One (Zone 3) after they finished last in the season under review, following the delay of the case. Former Premier League side – Liberty Professionals, who also campaign in the same zone (Zone 3), surrendered their elite status in the immediate past season (2021/2022).
With Inter Allies now demoted to the third tier, the petition urged the GFA to reinstate Danbort to its former status, instead of “skewing the rule to favour underserved clubs and create more problems for itself and invariably delay the start of the 2022/2023 Premier League season.
The petition also cited a gamut of precedents that should easily guide the DC and Appeals Committee (DC) taking a firm decision on the matter.
In a related development, former premiership side – Cape Coast Ebusua Dwarfs, who finished 16th in the 18-club league, have appealed the GFA to declare them automatic replacement for demoted AshantiGold and rescind its decision to organise a play-off to fill that space.
BY JOHN VIGAH
