CAS confirms receiving Palmer payment for GFA legal tussle to start

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has confirmed that it has received the full payment from disqualified presidential aspirant Wilfred Osei Kwaku (Palmer) to force his election case against Ghana FA (GFA) to go ahead.

Osei, popularly known as Palmer, paid 22,000 Swiss Francs to CAS this week on behalf of the GFA for his disqualification from federation's presidential elections appeal case to be heard.

The Swiss-based organisation will now form the panel of judges on the case titled: CAS 2019/A/6517 Wilfred Kweku Osei v Ghana Football Association to hear the case.

The case has the got potential of ordering for a fresh Ghana FA election six months after Kurt Okraku won the polls.

The GFA refused to pay 22,000 Euros so per the rules, Palmer decided to pay both so that the hearing can go ahead which means he has now paid 44, 000 Euros which is $48,000.

Some media outfits believed to have received leaks from the GFA that Palmer might not be able to pay the amount which would have ended the litigation that challenges the legitimacy current leader of the federation Okraku.

However, CAS confirmed on Friday that it has received the full payment to allow it to form a panel to hear the case against the GFA over the decision to stop Palmer from contesting the election.

"I can confirm that the CAS Court Office has received payment by the Appellant of the Respondent's share of advance of costs. The Parties will receive further information regarding the present proceedings in due course," Carolin Fisher, Counsel to the CAS wrote on Friday.

This means the world's sports court body is set to begin processes to put paid to the long-winding legal tussle that hangs around the Ghana FA presidency.

Palmer dragged the Ghana FA to CAS over his 'unfair' disqualification from the presidential race in October last year.

The situation has put the presidency of Kurt Okraku on the line with wide reaching implication if Palmer becomes successful.

There are two things likely to happen - CAS to throw out the case and allow the status quo to remain or order for a re-run of the election if it was deemed the plaintiff was unfairly disqualified from the race.

The ruling from CAS will put to rest months of intense anxiety involving all the principal actors.

The feuding parties - the Ghana Football Association and aspirant Wilfred Osei Kwaku have named their respective arbitrators to set the tone for the adjudication of the matter.

While the association has gone for Swiss lawyer Hendrik Willem Kesler, Osei Kwaku has hired highly-rated Australian John Didulica.