Upset stomach halts Ghana match

Soccer. According to rules of the game, play must be stopped every time a goalkeeper is injured or absent from the field. If any other player is not on the field, play can continue

Drama unfolded at a Ghana top-flight league match on Saturday when a league match was halted for about five minutes for a goalkeeper to attend to nature’s call.

The Glo-PL match between Amidaus Professionals and Real Tamale United (RTU) saw some drama as the match was brought to a temporary halt to allow Amidaus goalkeeper, Eric Antwi Ofori, to attend to nature’s call.

The match was barely 30 minutes old when the incident occurred, forcing referee Prince Tawiah to stop proceedings with spectators kept in a suspense as to what was happening.

The GNA Sports gathered that goalkeeper Ofori in the course of the match suffered from a stomach upset and as a result had no option than to attend to nature’s call.

It took about four minutes for the keeper to return into action amidst laughter and cheers from the enthusiastic crowd.

An official told the GNA Sports that what the referee did was in consonance with Fifa’s regulations, particularly under Law Five, which does not allow a match to continue in the absence of a keeper.

The match itself saw Amidaus winning 3-1 to sink RTU further down the log. Late last month in the English Premiership, Southampton midfielder Jason Puncheon left the pitch to go to the toilet in a match against Everton. He returned and finished the game.

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