Dreams FC concede that they have become “easy target” for some clubs because of their association with the President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku.
This follows a heavy criticism by their Ghana Premier League opponents last Sunday, Accra Lions.
Lions lost 1-0 to the 2024 CAF Confederation Cup semi-finalists thanks to a 71st minute strike by Kelvin Ahiable.
But the Accra-based club, who are in their fourth season in the top-flight league, expressed disgust at officiating during the game at the Tuba AstroTurf, attributing Ghana’s poor international showing to these incidents.
“We owe it a duty to our fans, the football community and the public to express our concern about recent developments in the Ghanaian football landscape,” Accra Lions began their statement on Monday, January 6.
“In our opinion, the results at the international level is a reflection of the development at the local level.
“We are playing our fourth season in Ghana’s top division and unfortunately we have to admit that the conditions are steadily deteriorating.
“There is now no sponsor for the league, nor has a television contract been negotiated at this point.
“How will the league ever acquire sponsors again if refereeing performances like yesterday’s become the standard and any criticism is immediately sanctioned by the association?
“Lots of incidents and happenings have gone unattended, an experience that has left us with more questions than answers.”
But in a clapback on Tuesday, Dreams FC said the action by Accra Lions is calculated to “poison the mindset of all stakeholders”.
It said while upholding the tenets of integrity, professionalism, fair play and accountability, it is equally important that principles in adhering to this be upheld.
In other words, Dreams FC said the right and appropriate channels must be employed while eschewing any forms of hypocrisy and double standards.
“Our fellow Premier League club touted their credentials as being runners-up last season of the very product they seek to subtly bastardize and undermine in their publication,” the statement from Dreams FC noted.
“We’re very sure [per their suggestions] this feat was achieved by securing results in matches without any refereeing issues.
“Football clubs all over the world have and will continue to benefit and suffer from refereeing infractions in matches.
“It is our responsibility as industry players to recognise this fact due to the human nature associated with officiating.
“In fact, these infractions remain prevalent in jurisdictions that have invested heavily to employ the use of modern technology in their game.”
It, therefore, urged all stakeholders with compelling evidence of wrongdoing, particularly relative to officiating, to use the right channels to seek redress.
Dreams FC’s win last Sunday saw them move out of the relegation zone for the first time in the 2024/25 season, plunging Accra Lions to 17th on the 18-team log.
