Fresh Trouble For Charles Taylor

Accra Hearts of Oak and Power F.C. are between them brewing fresh trouble for embattled Charles Taylor and it now looks certain that Taylor can't be left alone after the tortuous route from Hearts to Kotoko via the transfer market.

Hearts and Power F.C's new charge against Taylor and Kotoko is that he does not qualify to play in the league after being registered by the FA and so should not have played at all in the three games he has so far featured.

Taylor debut for Kotoko against Power FC in Kumasi two Sundays ago, and played against Bofoakwa in Sunyani before playing in the cliff-hanger in Kumasi against his former club last Sunday.

Hearts contend that Taylor's registration on Saturday, August 2, is illegal since it was done outside official working hours.

Hearts counsel and Board Secretary Ernest Thompson yesterday told the Soccer Express that Asante Kotoko should not have featured Taylor in their 14th week league clash in Kumasi against Hearts because if indeed the FA registered him on the weekend, then that was illegal.

According to Thompson, Kotoko were even eager to register him on August 1, which was a Friday, and the FA was equally excited to endorse his documents but he (Thompson) personally cautioned them against it because that day being the last of the period of Taylor's suspension for breaching his contract with Hearts, was inclusive of the penal days.

He said officially and traditionally, Ghanaian offices do not open during weekends and so did not see how the FA managed to get Taylor to play on the following Sunday.

'I don't know why they were in so much hurry to register the boy. It was obvious that it should not have been done.' Thompson said. Thompson said even though Hearts would pursue the case, he had heard that Power FC were treating the case as a very serious one for prosecution.

When reminded that the FA before the league kicked off in May had assured that it would open its doors at the weekends for registration of players to compensate for the time lost that saw to it that the league got off late, Ernest Thompson argued that if that was the situation then it should have been made official but as it were, the clubs were not informed officially about it.

Further pressed to comment on this new twist to the Taylor saga and if it did not sound like stretching litigation too far, Lawyer Thompson smiled and said that Kotoko have shown that they love to litigate a lot and this new case is coming as an added jibe.

Further asked about the chances if any of this new protest, he said the issue is not about chances but that in law, cases are determined on salient arguments.

Soccer Express failed to make contact with Power officials but the paper is reliably informed that contents of the protest letter are no different from the Hearts case.