DAILY HERITAGE JULY 9, 2020

Inside JULY 9, 2020.qxp_Layout 1 7/8/20 8:47 PM Page 13
DAILY HERITAGE THURSDAY , JULY 9, 2020
Playing for Black Stars will be a dream
come true – Hearts midfielder
ACCRA HEARTS
of Oak midfielder
Emmanuel
Nettey has said
playing for
the Black
Stars will be a realization of a
lifelong dream.
Nettey’s outstanding performance
for Hearts in the annulled
Ghana Premier League season
has not gone unnoticed.
Ahead of Charles Kwablah
Akonnor’s first squad announcement,
Nettey came up for mention
as one of the locally-based
players who could get an invite.
However, his name was not
included in the list and he is not
bitter over that decision.
Nettey, who believes in the
timing of God, is of the conviction
that when his time is due for
a Black Stars call-up, nothing will
stop him.
The former Inter Allies midfielder
tells www.ghanaweb.com
that his ultimate dream is to wear
the national colours.
He is happy with his current
form, he says, but will continue
to work hard to court the attention
of Akonnor and his technical
team.
“It’s every Ghanaian’s dream
to don the colours of the national
team and I know with
time, I won’t be an exception. I’m
going to wear the colours of
Ghana one day even if it’s going
to be for a day. I will represent
the country,” Nettey noted.
It has been nearly four
decades since Ghanaians celebrated
a trophy won by the Black
Stars.
The hunger for an AFCON
trophy cannot be over emphasized
and it is one of the tasks set
for coach Akonnor.
Quizzed on whether he will
be the man to lead Ghana to an
AFCON trophy should he be selected,
Nettey reasoned that it
would depend largely on the
quality and commitment of players
available.
“It won’t just be me but the
crop of players I’m gonna find
myself in. If we agree that this is
what we need to do for the country.
This is what the country
needs and we have the same
mindset, then I think we can all
drive at that,” he said.
I had no choice
I don’t understand VAR pitchside monitor rules — Arteta
ARSENAL BOSS Mikel Arteta
says he does not understand the
use of pitch-side monitors in the
Premier League after the decision
to send off Eddie Nketiah in the
1-1 draw with Leicester.
Referee Chris Kavanagh initially
showed Nketiah a yellow
card for his hard tackle on James
Justin.
But after consulting with the
VAR officials and viewing a replay
himself, he changed this to
red.
"In the last year I have never
seen a referee check any images,"
said Arteta.
"I do not understand the
rules. But I can do nothing now."
Arteta said he was also unhappy
at a challenge by a Leicester
player he felt should have
• Arteta issuing instructions to his players
• Eddie Nketia marching off after being shown a red card
resulted in a red card that he
identified as happening between
the 40th and 45th minute.
It is likely he was referring to
a clash between Jamie Vardy and
• Emmanuel Nettey
Shkodran Mustafi, in which
the Foxes striker caught the
defender in the face with his
heel. This went unpunished.
"It can be a red card but
then Leicester have to
play with 10 men,"
Arteta told Sky Sports.
"For an incident that
happened between the
40th and 45th minute,
it has to be a red card
as well."
In January this year,
the Professional Game
Match Officials Limited,
the body that
manages elite referees,
issued guidance
that referees should
start using pitchside
monitors for red card
decisions where it is
felt they should have
• Mikel Arteta, Caoch of Arsenal
the final say.
Prior to that, the only time
the monitors have been used in
2019-20 is by Michael Oliver in
an FA Cup third-round tie between
Crystal Palace and Derby
County.
As a result, he upgraded a yellow
card for Palace's Luka
Milivojevic to a red.
This approach has not been
witnessed often since then, with
the most notable occasion coming
in the game
between Southampton and Newcastle
in March, when referee
Graham Scott upgraded Moussa
Djenepo's yellow to a red after
consulting the pitchside monitor.
In January this year,
the Professional
Game Match Officials
Limited, the
body that manages
elite referees, issued
guidance that referees
should start
using pitchside monitors
for red card decisions
where it is
felt they should have
the final say.