The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) is expected to make public its verdict on the case involving the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and disqualified GFA presidential aspirant, Mr Wilfred Kweku Osei today.
MrOsei, affectionately known as Palmer in football circles, dragged the football governing body in the country to the supreme sport adjudication court, seeking redress from the Switzerland-based sports tribunal for wrongful disqualification from the 2019 GFA presidential elections by the defunct FIFA Normalisation Committee for Football.
The Elections Committee of the then Normalisation Committee, in October last year, disqualified him on two counts – breaching financial regulations of the GFA following the transfer of player Joseph Paintsil to Belgian side KRC Genk and failing an integrity test.
The Tema Youth owner believed he did nowrong and was mistakenly accused of things that did not exist.
The verdict is expected to put to sleep 10months of litigation between the two parties.
Should MrOsei have the verdict going his way; he would have part of his relieves being sought from the Court; that is the results of the last FA presidential elections being declared null and void for a fresh elections to be held.
This will mean the GFA could be forced to organise fresh presidential elections.
Also, if the court throws out the former Black Stars management committee chairman’s case, then the Kurt Okraku-led administration would continue to serve the remainder of the term as GFA President.
The GFA has stated its readiness to comply with whatever ruling comes out of the Arbitration body as they are well aware of the procedure at CAS.
For Mr Osei, who remains very hopeful of clearing his name and having his relieves granted, says “God has the final say.”
Ahead of today’s verdict, he took to his official Twitter page yesterday to share a Bible verse from (2 Timothy 4:7 KJV) which reads:”I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith,” accompanied by the hashtag #GodHasTheFinalSay.
CAS was scheduled to make public its verdict on the case on July 17. However, it postponed it to today in pursuant to Article R59 of the Code of Sports-related Arbitration.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
