FIFA referee Juliet Appiah has spoken out about her experience officiating the highly anticipated Hearts of Oak-Asante Kotoko game, which took place on July 17, 2024, at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Appiah received a lot of criticism from fans of both teams after the game, with many believing she didn’t meet expectations. However, in an interview with Kessben FM, Appiah expressed her delight with her performance and revealed that officials from Hearts of Oak applauded her for doing an excellent job.
“When a football team loses a game, the loser always complains,” Appiah said. “However, after the game, Hearts of Oak officials applauded me for such an excellent officiating. I have not received any bad comment since officiating the game. Anyone who called applauded me for handling a game of such magnitude. You know Kotoko and Hearts of Oak games are not supposed to be played at night, so for me to handle the game without any bad incident tells you I did well.”
The game, which was held to celebrate 30 years of parliamentary democracy in Ghana, saw Asante Kotoko emerge victorious with a 2-1 win over Hearts of Oak. Goals from Justice Blay and Peter Amidu were enough to secure the Porcupine Warriors’ third consecutive win over the Phobians.
Kotoko’s success in the inaugural Democracy Cup has earned the team a ticket to face Major League Soccer side DC United in the United States at a date to be announced by the organizers.
