Sports

Lydia Nkansah to lead Kotoko committee for Manhyia

Otumfuo’s panel will probe how the Porcupine Warriors became embroiled a dispute with Espérance Sportive de Tunis

The dean of the Faculty of Law at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Professor Lydia Nkansah, has been appointed as the chair of a committee, set up by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to investigate the circumstances leading to Kotoko’s legal tussle with Espérance Sportive of Tunisia.

A press statement released on Wednesday said that the committee has a four-week period within which it will investigate the matter and present its findings to Otumfuo, the life patron of the club.

Manhyia letter on Kotoko committee

The committee was put together and mandated last week to investigate the sequence of events which began in 2015 with Emmanuel Clottey’s arrival at the club, and ended in 2020 with the Porcupine Warriors having to pay a hefty fine.

The Clottey saga

In 2015, Asante Kotoko signed the striker Emmanuel Clottey although he had a running contract with a Tunisian side, Espérance de Tunis. Following a Twitter post announcing the deal, Espérance reported the matter to FIFA.

After a hearing, FIFA ruled that Kotoko should pay Espérance a fine of US$180,000. However, Asante Kotoko did not pay the fine as stipulated in the ruling.

Three years later, the team transferred the midfielder Kwame Bonsu “Conte” to the Tunisian club for $150,000. Espérance defaulted on making the payment for two years, at which point Kotoko began to demand payment of the money owed.

Espérance’s initial position on the matter was that Kotoko should pay the club $30,000, by way of the difference between the debt and the sum Kotoko owed them. But this did not sit well with Kotoko’s chief executive, Dr Kwame Kyei, and so the matter ended up at FIFA.

The international soccer federation warned the Porcupine Warriors to pay the original settlement fine, with interest, bringing the sum to $240,000. The money was to be paid before 17 May, or else a transfer ban would be slapped on Asante Kotoko both locally and internationally.

Kotoko were also to pay a fine of $15,000 for disrespecting a FIFA decision.

Settlement

With the help of Close Marking Consult, a football agency led by Ashford Tetteh Oku, Kotoko secured a settlement agreement with both Espérance and FIFA.

This allowed the Porcupine Warriors to pay just $30,000 to Espérance, because the Tunisian side owes them $150,000 for signing Bonsu last year. The Tunisian side agreed to write off the $45,000 interest accrued on the fee.

The $15,000 due FIFA was paid, however. All payments were made on Wednesday 29 April.

Manhyia inquest

While the clubs and FIFA were slugging it out, there was another turf war raging on radio and television between executives present and past, all management members of the club. Ben Nti, a former player, the former chief executive officer Opoku Nti and Edmund Ackah, the recently resigned Accra representative for the club, featured in a soap opera of accusations and counteraccusations which only dented the club’s image.

Before things could deteriorate further, Manhyia asked all parties to cease making public comments on the matter, and announced it would be setting up a three-member committee to investigate the matter.

Messrs Kofi Owusu, registrar general of the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs, and Lawrence Bruce Kyei, who is a lawyer, are to serve on the committee led by Professor Nkansah.

It will finish its work within four weeks.

Atsu Boye

* Asaase Radio 99.5 FM. Coming to a dial near you.

* Twitter: @Asaase995FM

Source
Ghana News Agency
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