The race for the title is currently raging on and off the field between leaders Hawks FC and second place Real de Banjul. Hawks had at one time established a solid 6-point lead now cut to just one point.
However, one in addition to their performance on the field, the reasons Real gained ground is that they were awarded all three points when they won an appeal against GPA over the fielding of a player loaned from Real to Ports in a match that ended in a draw.
The GFF Appeals Committee ruled that the said player should not have been fielded by Ports against his parent club according an agreement between the two clubs which was copied to the GFF. It added that Ports have even admitted it was an error on their side.
The Standard also confirmed that Real has reminded Ports about their agreement before the match to avoid any violation of the agreement.
However, Daha Njie, executive officer of Hawks whose lead has been reduced by the decision said the Appeals Committee’s decision has no legal basis and should be revised. ”There is no law in the GFF league which stated that a loaned player cannot play against his parent club. So even if there is such an agreement between Real and Ports, the GFF should only act according to their own law of the league and not an agreement between two clubs. This is unfair and a violation of the rule of the GFF league and am calling on the GFF to revise the decision of the Appeal Committee because their action is not based on any law,” Mr Njie said. The Hawks official also questioned why was the Appeal Committee’s decision not officially announced to all stakeholders since it has affected the league. “Why is the decision being kept as secret,” he asked.
The Standard tried to reach GFF head of competition Ebou Faye who would not pick his phone or reply to our enquiries. However, another GFF source told The Standard that the Appeals Committee is an independent judicial arm of the GFF whose decisions are final and not subjected to comments by members of the Federation.
