Hearts of Oak vs Liberty Professionals: Referee Danquah charged for delaying kickoff time

Referee Obed Kwegyah Danquah and Match Commissioner, Nii Adjiri Barnor, have both been charged by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for delaying the start of the match between Hearts of Oak and Liberty Professionals.

The two teams met in a Matchday 33 fixture that ended 1-1 at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday, July 11.

According to the Disciplinary Committee of the FA, the match officials failed to start the game at the scheduled 3:00 pm kickoff time and also did not offer any explanation for the delay in their official match reports.

The two match officials are to file their defence and have their day before the GFA Disciplinary Committee.

An earlier directive from the GFA had that, matches whose outcome will have bearing on the league title or relegation were to be played on the same day with kick-off scheduled at exactly 3 pm.

So as expected, the matches involving Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko were to be played at the same time and shown simultaneously by television rights holder StarTimes Ghana.

The draw was enough to secure Hearts of Oak their first title in 12 years.

Meanwhile, Liberty must win their final game against King Faisal to avoid relegation.