The cat is finally out of the bag. The Ghana Football Association has finally taken a far reaching decision to ban Charles Taylor for reneging on a contract with Accra Hearts of Oak.
Unconfirmed FA sources told the Soccer Express late yesterday that the errant player had been slapped with a 4-month ban plus a 650 million fine.
Kumasi Asante Kotoko who were found guilty by the FA of coercing Taylor to dishonour his contract were also slapped with a 200 million fine according to the sources.
The decision of the FA comes barely one week after the International Football Federation (FIFA) reacted to the Ghana Football Association's request for directions on the infamous Charles Taylor saga.
FIFA directives made it clear that if the FA is convinced Charles Taylor has 'jumped' his contract with Hearts of Oak, he should be banned and the FA may have finally done that yesterday even though many expected a decision later this week following the infamous loss of the Black Stars in far away Kigali. Hearts of Oak PR consultant, Randy Abbey confirmed to this paper that he had heard the news but was quick to state he did not have all the details as the ruling, which was faxed to the office of Board Member and Legal Advisor, Ernest Thompson got jammed in the process.
Thompson had earlier told the Soccer Express that going by a strict interpretation of the FA's regulation, Taylor faces an imminent ban plus a fine, while Kotoko has a charge of inducing a player under contract to answer. Should that happen, that Hearts legal brain said it could be disastrous for Taylor's career 'even if he is handed a four-month ban. Which club in this world would take him on?'
Ernest Thompson said he is totally taken aback by the stance of Taylor for insisting that he would not even take a foreign contract, explaining that it is unusual.
He described Taylor's conduct as strange and argued that after being voted the best player in the country, every player seeks to play outside, adding that from the way things have moved so far all may not be well with Taylor, describing him as a 'not particularly rude player'.
The Charles Taylor saga has dragged on for about five months following a series of vanishing and reappearing acts on the part of the player which eventually culminated in the player pitching camp in Kumasi and playing at least one friendly for Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
The FA later fined the player for featuring for Kotoko and cautioned Hearts and Kotoko to sit down and negotiate on the matter but both sides took hard line positions leading to another ruling a month ago which confirmed Taylor's status as a Hearts player even though it requested that Hearts sit with Taylor and resolve their differences.
That meeting never materialised and the FA was left with no option but to seek directives from FIFA.