Grunsah denies attack on referee

Alhaji Karim Grunsah, owner of Kumasi-based King Faisal Football Club, has denied media reports that he attempted to attack referee Attifu during last Sunday's ill-tempered epic Premier League match against city rivals Asante Kotoko. Players of King Faisal, charged on the referee after he had disallowed a late equaliser for Faisal, who were trailing 1-2 at the time. Play was held up for five minutes.

Giving his side of the story in Accra, Alhaji Grunsah said he rushed on to the pitch to prevent his players from attacking the referee. He said he was stunned when he read in the dailies the following day that he had attempted to attack the referee for disallowing the goal.

According the King Faisal’s chief financier, he was informed at half time by security personnel that one police Inspector and a Sergeant, together with the match commissioner Agbovi had gone into the referee's dressing room. He said he wouldn't have bothered, had the personnel not insisted that the police officials were pro-Kotoko people and that something fishy might be going on. "I went in and met them, and I insisted that they went out with me, but they won't," he said.

Alhaji Grunsah said the argument nearly degenerated into a row until Kotoko's Chief Executive, Herbert Mensah, came on the scene, to cool tempers. "Later when my boys rushed on the referee and I tried to cool tempers, this Inspector heckled me as if I had done something wrong," he said. Alhaji Grunsah said; "I only told referee Attifu that was not how his father (a former referee) used to handle matches and he should sit up."

The King Faisal boss has lodged a complaint with the Kumasi Regional Police Command and a protest with the Ghana Football Association about the behaviour of the referee.