After their elimination from the 2010 World Cup at the quarter final level due to a deliberately stopped goal by a Uruguay striker, Luis Suarez, Ghana Football Association has announced its intention to seek redress and hopes the petition would be supported by the England who suffered a similar fate when a Frank Lampard whose goal against Germany was disallowed.
Ghana hinted Tuesday it would petition FIFA, the world football governing body, to take a critical look at ‘declaration of goal’ in football competitions, after it was denied a goal in the FIFA 2010 World Cup, when a Uruguayan player deliberately stopped a goal-bound shot that many said crossed the line.
This was announced by Ghana Football Association (GFA) president, Kwesi Nyantakyi, when players of the Black Stars, who arrived home Monday, were hosted to a luncheon by President John Evans Atta Mills at the Castle, the seat of government.
Nyantakyi said GFA was concerned about refereeing in Ghana’s quarter-final match against Uruguay, where the referee awarded a penalty instead of a goal for Ghana.
“The GFA has decided to petition FIFA to take a critical look at declaration of goal in critical competitions,” Nyantakyi said.
Uruguay striker Luis Suarez deliberately stopped Ghanaian striker Dominic Adiyia h’s goal bound header in the last minute of extra time when the score was 1-1.
Suarez was given the matching orders and a penalty given to Ghana, but Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan blasted the ball off the cross bar. And Ghana lost the subsequent penalty shoot-out 4-2 to edge the country out.
According to Nyantakyi many members of FIFA were from the United Kingdom and seeing what happened to England, whose goal by Frank Lampard against Germany was disallowed, they would support the petition.
He said the Black Stars, which became the only third African team, after Cameroon (1990) and Senegal (2002) to reach the quarter-final of the World Cup, was not disgraced but that they brought honour, pride and dignity to Ghana, Africa and the Black race.
