The University of Ghana (UG) women’s football team boycotted their semi-final match against the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), originally scheduled for Wednesday, January 15, at the Robert Mensah Stadium.
The match began on a high note, with UEW taking the lead in the first half through a penalty expertly converted by Sandra Andoh.
Despite trailing, UG remained determined to equalise in the second half.
A few minutes into the second half, Genevieve Boakye scored for UG. However, the goal was disallowed due to a controversial decision by the referee.
The official cited a foul after the goal had been scored, even though the supposed infringement occurred during the buildup to the goal where he kept mute and the victim was also nowhere near the play.
This infuriated Team UG, who felt they had endured a series of unfair decisions throughout the tournament.
According to Team UG, the same referee officiated their previous group-stage match against Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), which UG won 5-4 on penalties.
They alleged that officiating in that match was also biased but chose to remain silent at the time.
However, after facing similar treatment again, the team decided to withdraw from the game, stating that they were “fed up” with repeated unfairness.
“Officiating has been terribly bad. The referee who handled this match is the same one who officiated our game against KNUST, and there were similar complaints about his misconduct.
This time, you saw the series of unfair decisions. Despite the bias, we kept pushing.
But when we scored a goal, his assistant referee agreed it was valid, and he initially agreed too. Later, he disallowed it, claiming a foul had occurred earlier, but he couldn’t even identify the exact foul.
Someone fell minutes before the goal, and he didn’t call it. Now he wants to justify disallowing the goal?
We are not trying to interrupt, he’s the referee of course but at least fairness must prevail. Now because fairness isn’t prevailing, we said that okay, they [UEW] are hurting our students, my students should come out of the place,” UG’s Sports and Wellness Director, Dr. Austin Luguterah, told Univers Sports’ Gabriel Tecco Mensah.
Issues with officiating have plagued UG throughout the 28th edition of the Ghana University Sports Association (GUSA) Games, hosted by the University of Cape Coast (UCC).
Complaints have come from several disciplines, including men’s hockey. UG’s assistant hockey coach, Walter Brown, noted that “officiating has not helped them at all,” even as the team managed to secure gold in their final match.
Univers Sports’ Gabriel Tecco Mensah also observed instances where UG men’s hockey fans were removed from the field before matches commenced, while fans of other teams, including the hosts UCC, were allowed to stay and support their teams.
Dr. Luguterah suggested that Team UG feels targeted, stating: “It’s as if they are ganging up against us.”
Team UG continues to call for impartiality in officiating to ensure the spirit of sportsmanship prevails in the GUSA Games.
