GFA boss Kurt Okraku reacts to Kotoko, Aduana playing first-half with 10 players each

Ghana Football Association (GFA) President Kurt Okraku is worried after learning that Aduana Stars and Asante Kotoko played the first half of their Ghana Premier League match with 10 players each. 

On Wednesday, the two teams in what was the biggest match of the matchday 11, left fans stunned after going against the norm of fielding 11 players at the start of a match. 

Reports from the benches said, before kickoff, that Aduana’s Farouk Adams and Kotoko’s Martin Antwi had sustained knocks and required treatment. 

Their treatment seemed to be delaying the start, so referee Alphonso Atiapah decided to get things underway. Per association football rules a team is required to field a minimum of seven players. 

Strangely, after receiving treatment, none of the two still came onto the pitch first – a move that is reported to have been borne out of superstition.

According to some sources, the superstitious instructions were that the team whose player entered the pitch first would lose.

The teams completed the first half with 10 men each, and the score was goalless. In the second half, the two players finally made their way onto the pitch.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Personality Profile, Thursday, Kurt Okraku said: “First of all, I have not seen the match report, so I’ll have to be careful on what I will say here. I have read pieces on what seems to have happened on media platforms.

“I have seen pieces of the match footage on social media, indeed, what I saw is quite worrying but I will not want to comment too much because I have set up an institution and I want the institution to work, I want the structures to work.

“But clearly what we saw on the screens and what has been reported on social media platforms is not what we want for our football, not at all.”

The match finished 1-0 in favour of Aduana Stars. 

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