Abra-Appiah blamed for cancellation of Everton/Kotoko game

Premier League Board (PLB) chairman, Welbeck Abra-Appian, has been mentioned as the official who engineered the cancellation of English Premiership side, Everton’s pre-season tie with Ghana’s Kumasi Asante Kotoko which was scheduled for July 12 in Kumasi.

In a telephone interview with Oman f.m, a local radio station in Accra on Friday evening, the Media Relations Officer of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, Javis Peprah, hinted that the PLB chairman had told him in the face during a confrontation at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra weeks back that there was no way the encounter will come-off, something that followers of Asante Kotoko including Mr. Peprah believes led to the cancellation of their date with Everton.

“ PLB Chairman, Mr. Abra-Appiah told me in the face to wait and see whether our game with Everton will be realized since he cannot postpone our 29th week league game with Ashgold which accidentally falls on July 12, the date fixed for the Everton game” Javis said.

According to Javis Peprah, the Ghana Football Association (GFA), the umbrella body of the Premier League Board, forwarded to them a letter from Everton through the English F.A which included the date, time and venue for the game asking them (Kotoko) if they are aware of such an engagement and whether they will be ready to honor it.

However, after answering in the affirmative and sending the response to Everton, the same body turns back to inform officials of Everton weeks later that the scheduled game cannot be honored due to a league fixture.

“We therefore wonder why after sanctioning and endorsing the game, the same association will turn back and inform officials of Everton that Kumasi Asante Kotoko will not be available on the said date” he said.

“Didn’t the F.A, which the Premier League Board operates under take note of the details in the letter sent them by Everton before forwarding our response and confirmation to Everton?” he questioned.

“Officials at the PLB and the Ghana Football Association should have known that Ghana football stands to gain a lot had the encounter being realized and not Kumasi Asante Kotoko alone as they might have thought” he added.

The cancellation of the tie has been described by Everton’s Chief Executive, Robert Elstone as disappointing.

"This is extremely disappointing news," Everton chief executive Robert Elstone said.

"The club had invested a lot of time and effort into making this game a reality and were looking forward to making the trip to Kumasi”. In a related story, investigation conducted by Omansports Agenda in Kumasi, the home of Asante Kotoko has revealed that supporters of the club have threatened to boycott the next edition of the annual Top 4 tournament organized by the Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA) in protest to the cancellation of the Everton game since they claim their withdrawal from this year’s President Cup which is also organized by GHALCA amounted to the cancellation of the Everton game.