Hearts of Oak "smell rat" and conspiracy

Accra, Sept 4, gna- Defending League Champions, Accra Hearts of Oak, on Thursday said it believed there is a grand conspiracy to thwart the club's seventh streak league championship aspirations.

In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Professional League Board and copied to the GNA Sports, the club referred to Media reports on its league match with Berekum Arsenals on Wednesday and said it was not a co-incidence that news reporters from both Daily Graphic and Ghanaian Times reported biased officiating of Referee R.M. Kwanning of Takoradi against Hearts in the encounter.

" We do know that you have various mechanisms for verifying certain reports e,g. from match commissioners or Independent Observers and, that Press reports may not necessarily be of much use to the Board.

But what is certain and unambiguous here is that the Reporters of both the Daily Graphic and the Ghanaian Times cannot be absolutely wrong with their reports on the biased officiating of Referee R.M. Kwanning from Takoradi."

The letter said coming just within three days of another raw deal meted out to the club by Referee Essel Walker of Cape Coast in their match against Kotoko, " we believe there is a grand conspiracy to thwart our seven streak league championship aspirations."

The letter, signed by Mr Ashford Tettey Oku, the Administrative Manager, therefore warned that " if nothing is done about these things something serious may happen to Ghana soccer soonest, as the undue pressure by our teeming fans on the Management is indicative of the fact that gradually the bridle of tolerance with which we have held them is growing weaker."