The referee who officiated the Betpawa Ghana premier league matchday 3 game between Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak, Referee Yao Bless has finally been punished by the Ghana Football Association’s match review panel, Kessben Sports has learned.
According to Kessben Sports, the Ghana Football Association decided not to make Yaw Bless’ punishment public.
Two other referees have also been cautioned for below-average performances.
The motive not to make the punishment public is understood not to demoralize the spirits of the punished referees.
The match review panel in their various sitting admitted that Yao Serlom Bless got many of his decisions in the game wrong which may have changed the scoreline of the game hence their decision to demote him to officiate in the Division one league for the season.
This comes as welcoming news to many Asante Kotoko fans who felt Kotoko could have won the game rather than drawing 1-1 with Hearts of Oak.
Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan has released his latest music project and has tagged the song as an anthem for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
This year’s World Cup commences on November 20 with 32 nations set to compete in the competition; Ghana is one of the 32 qualified nations.
Afrobeat Musician Kianni collaborated with Ghana’s all time lead goal scorer Gyan on a remix version of Kianni’s Turn Up song. The original version of the song was released this year.
This is the second collaborative work between Kianni and the legendary striker known in music circles as Baby Jet. Kianni featured Baby Jet on the song ungrateful.
Aside from being a highly rated player who starred for Ghana at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 World Cups and for clubs like Sunderland, Udinese and Rennes, Gyan has featured quite prominently in the music industry since 2010.
Gyan has been featured on hit songs like Castro’s African Girls, Aduaba and Do the Dance and Stonebwoy’s Enemies.
Ghana will compete in the FIFA World Cup for the fourth time and has been drawn in Group H in this year’s World Cup with Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay at the group stage.
Former Ghana captain John Mensah has advised the Black Stars players to stay together and fight as a team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The Black Stars is returning to the global showpiece after missing out in Russia 2018, where France emerged as winners.
“They have to prepare their mind well because, in every tournament, the first game is very important. If you get the morale from the first game with a win, it keeps the team morale high so that they can go on well”
“They have to stay together as a team, fight together and I believe they can achieve for themselves and as a nation at large”
Ghana has been paired against Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea in Group H.
The biggest soccer mundial will be staged in Qatar between November and December with 32 countries set to battle it out for the ultimate.
The Black Stars will tackle Portugal in the opening game of the Group before facing Asian and South American giants South Korea and Uruguay respectively.
Asante Kotoko goalkeeper Danlad Ibrahim has been included in the Black Star’s provisional World Cup squad.
Otto Addo has submitted his provisional squad to FIFA and is working on naming the final squad, expected to be 26 players, before Ghana’s first game at the World Cup on November 24 against Portugal.
In an interview, Richard Kingston, who is the goalkeepers’ trainer of the Black Stars confirmed Danlad Ibrahim’s inclusion in the provisional squad for the mundial.
“Danlad is very good, he is one of the goalkeepers selected not the final 26-man squad but he is part of the 55-man provisional list. So, I and my colleagues (Technical team) are working on it to see the best as to who has to go to the World Cup”
The Black Stars have been paired against Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea in Group H.
The biggest soccer mundial will be staged in Qatar between November and December with 32 countries set to battle it out for the ultimate.
The Black Stars will tackle Portugal in the opening game of the Group before facing Asian and South American giants South Korea and Uruguay respectively.
Hearts Of Oak trainer, Slavko Matic has announced his travelling squad to face newly-promoted side Kotoku Royals at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium on Saturday.
Kickoff is 3pm.
The two sides lock horns in a matchday 5 of the Ghana Premier League.
Junior Kaaba, Yassan Outching and Richard Attah failed to make the squad while Afriyie Barnieh and Suraj Seidu who missed their previous game against Bibian Gold Stars have returned to the team ahead of the clash.
Below is the full Hearts of Oak squad;
Goalkeepers:
Eric Ofori Antwi Richmond Ayi
Defenders: Samuel Inkoom Dennis Korsah Zakari Yakubu Rashid Okine Konadu Yiadom Fatawu Mohammed Robert Sowah
Midfielders: Caleb Amankwah Eric Esso Suraj Seidu Gladson Awako Amankwah Baafi Gideon Asante Salifu Ibrahim
Forwards: Benjamin Yorke Jideon Otanga Daniel Afriyie Barnie Isaac Mensah
Assistant coach of Asante Kotoko, Gazale Abdulai has lamented that the Porcupines could have conceded more in their game against Bechem United.
Goals from Kofi Agbesimah and Emmanuel Avornyo handed Kotoko their first defeat of the season at the Nana Fosu Gyeabour park on Thursday, November 3rd.
Speaking after the game, Gazale Abdulai stated that Kotoko lost the game as a result of an attacking imbalance.
“Technically our boys didn’t play up to expectation. We caused the second goal and have ourselves to blame. We couldn’t balance while we were attacking so they capitalize on that to score that second goal,” the coach said.
He added, “we will go to Kumasi to correct it because we were lucky, we could have conceded two or three goals because of our attacking imbalance.”
Bechem United have climbed to the 8th position while Kotoko stays in the 5th spot on the Ghana Premier League table.
Hearts of oak legend Bernard Don Bortey has indicated that he is aiming to coach Spanish powerhouses Barcelona and Real Madrid or Italian giants Juventus.
After retiring from playing, the former Ghana international ventured into coaching and has recently joined Hearts of Oak as the club’s youth development coach. He has been appointed as the Phobians’ U-14 coach.
Don Bortey said in an interview that his appointment is just the beginning of bigger things to come.
“That’s not where I’m targeting, although we start from somewhere. But for me, my target is to coach Real Madrid, Barcelona, or Juventus. I said this thing on radio some time ago, and today I’m saying it on TV.
Even then, I wasn’t a coach. I said I’ll coach Barcelona when I become a coach. Ghanaians lashed out at me me, saying I can’t. Maybe it looks huge in the eyes of humans, but it’s not huge in God’s eyes,” he said in an interview with Onua TV.
He added, “Because the ones who are coaching these teams were players like Don Boartey, and now they are coaching. So if Don Boartey says he will be a coach, why not support me with prayers rather than criticising that I can’t do it? I know that with what I’m saying, I’m not going to give up. That is why they call me the humble Lion. I’m strong.”
Don Bortey won four Ghana Premier League titles with the Hearts of Oak and one CAF Confederations Cup.
The Ghana Football Association has announced a one-year sponsorship deal with Telecommunications giant MTN as a sponsor of the Black Stars ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 finals.
The deal which is worth $2million dollars was announced on Thursday, November 3, 2022 at the headquarters of the Ghana Football Association in Accra.
In attendance was President of the Ghana Football Association Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku and Minister of Youth and Sports Mustapha Ussif (Hon.). Others included Executive Council Members Samuel Anim Addo and Nana Sarfo Oduro. Prosper Harrison Addo, General Secretary of the GFA, Samuel Aboabire, Chairman of the Greater Accra Regional Football Association and Kwasi Agyemang, Vice Chairman of the Black Stars Management Committee.
Executives of MTN were led by Chief Executive Officer Serlorm Adedevoh, Noel Kojo Ganson, Chief Commercial Officer, Nana Kofi Asare, Acting Chief Corporate Services Executive, Corporate Communications Manager Efua Falconer, Germain Nartey – Acting Senior Manager – Marketing Communications and Afua Serwaa Boateng – Media Relations Advisor.
Former Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya West and Deputy Communications Minister Hon. George Andah who is a Member of the Fund Raising Committee was a special guest.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, CEO of MTN – Serlom Adadevoh said the sponsorship is a reinforcement of their faith in the team.
‘’The passion for the game of football and sports in general is very infectious and we are waiting expectantly to watch the games. As a business committed to connecting families, friends, and businesses through cutting edge digital solutions, we view football as another avenue to connect people. Football reflects what we at MTN describe as Stronger together’’ he said.
‘’To make a team stronger we have to invest and this is why MTN is here today’’.
‘’Our sponsorship of the Black Stars is a reinforcement of the faith we have in this nation and in everything that is important to us including our national football assets’’.
‘’Today, Qatar 2022 is before us. We believe that our Black Stars deserve all the support they need to excel as they take on the rest of the world. As a network of choice and based on our track record with football sponsorships, we deem it a great responsibility to contribute our quota towards building and investing in a formidable team who will go all out to excel and bring back the joy, excitement, and Unity that football brings to our society’’ Serlorm Adedevoh added.
Bechem United at the Nana Fosu-Gyeabour Park on Thursday afternoon defeated Asante Kotoko 2-0 in an outstanding matchweek 1 fixture in the betPawa Premier League.
The Porcupines were given a good match by a plucky Hunters side who had Avornyo as a chief tormentor as he caused a lot of troubles for the Kotoko shaky defence.
The Hunters opened the scoring 23 minutes into the game through Kofi Agbesimah from the spot to end the first department.
While Asante Kotoko would play well in the second half, the efforts of the team to get a goal to restore parity did not materialise.
Unfortunately, the team conceded again in the 63rd minute as the chances of the visitors grabbing a point became much slimmer.
The goal scored by Emmanuel Avornyo sealed a 2-0 victory for Bechem United to make it two wins in the last five days.
The win has seen Bechem United climb to 8th on the Ghana Premier League table while Kotoko stays in the 5th spot.
Asante Kotoko face Bechem United at the Nana Fosu-Gyeabour Park in an outstanding matchweek 1 Ghana Premier League fixture.
Coach Seydou Zerbo names the likes of Richard Boadu, Richard Lamptey, Nicholas Mensah, Dickson Afoakwa and Steven Mukwala in the starting lineup.
In the posts, Danlad Ibrahim replaces Frederick Asare returning from national duty with Black Meteors who eliminated Mozambique in the U23 AFCON qualifiers.
Augustine Agyapong who missed the King Faisal clash comes in for injured Christopher Nettey.
Asante Kotoko XI: Danlad Ibrahim, Augustine Agyapong, Andrews Appau, Sheriff Mohammed, John Tedeku, Richard Boadu, Enock Morrison, Nicholas Mensah, Dickson Afoakwa, Steven Mukwala.
