Aduana, Asante Kotoko play out bizarre first half with ten players each, despite no red cards

Fans of both Aduana Stars and Asante Kotoko were left bemused after both teams completed the first 45 minutes of their Ghana Premier League encounter on Wednesday with just 10 players each.

Despite not receiving any red cards, both sides decided to start the game with their 11th – and final – players sitting on the touchlines.

The game was on a knife-edge even before kick-off as players from the two teams clashed during the traditional pre-match handshakes with Kotoko goalkeeper, Kwame Baah going down, with the Porcupine Warriors’ players claiming that he had been hit in the face by Aduana’s Nobert.

Aduana’s Farouk Adams and Kotoko’s Martin Antwi were captured by TV cameras sitting on the touchline as the first half progressed

As such, the teams took each other on in the first half with a player less than they could have on the pitch.

The two teams were, however, within FIFA rules which state that a football match may be allowed to go on unless either team has fewer than seven players.

The bizarre situation puzzled fans in the stadium who could not understand why their sides had taken such an odd decision.

On social media, observers were just as confused about the developments in Dormaa.

Despite the fact that two of the league’s top teams were facing off, the match itself took a backseat to conversations about the two players who were unexplainedly not involved in the action.

Many speculated that the teams had opted to field 10 players due to potential “spiritual” implications if they fielded 11.

One person, Ayishatu Zakaria Ali tweeted that both sides believed that they would lose the crucial encounter should they start the game with 11 players.

A number of people also shared this theory which seems to be the most popular right now on social media.

While some people criticised the actions of both teams as being primitive, others argued that superstition is a normal part of the local game and the incident should be accepted.

Others just saw the funny side of it all.

The two players were eventually brought on for the second half.

The match eventually ended 1-0 to Aduana.