Corruption in the world of football continues to create issues of integrity of the sport. The impact of corruption and its related activities have been evident in the Ghanaian football space over the last few years.
The integrity of Ghana’s game has been dented since the Number 12 exposé that led to the downfall of former CAF executive Kwesi Nyantakyi. Ghana football was brought to its knees in that 2018 exposé that fingered many top football officials and referees. Many of these officials received various bans from the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Confederation of African Football (CAF) and football’s highest governing body, FIFA. The integrity of our football officials and referees were dragged through the mud and the nation went through a period of normalisation.
Many believed that the exposé would lead to the cleansing of our football space after these corrupt acts came to light. New executives, officials and a new breed of referees were birthed and Ghana football looked on the path to recapturing our position as an African powerhouse with integrity. The ethics committee of the GFA became more visible, with the GFA prosecutor also taking on more cases that affected sporting integrity.
These gains were nullified at the end of the 2020/21 season, when a game between AshantiGold and Inter Allies FC took an interesting turn. The game ended 7-0 in favour of the Miners, with Inter Allies defender, Hashmin Musah, scoring two “bizarre” own goals. After the game, Musah indicated that the game was fixed to end in a 5-1 score in favour of AshGold and he scored those own goals to prevent that scoreline. This allegation was refuted by officials of both clubs who claimed that the game was played with the highest level of professionalism.
The GFA took this allegation very seriously and investigated it fully because it had the potential of putting Ghana in a precarious position on the continental and global football stage.
On 16th May 2022, the GFA disciplinary committee release it’s ruling on the case with both clubs being demoted to the second division of Ghana football. Aside that President of Ashgold, Dr.Kwaku Frimpong received a 10-year ban from football-related activities and a GHC 100,000 fine with club’s CEO also receiving an 8-year ban and a GHC 50,000 fine.
Despite this ruling and the various bans to players and officials of both clubs, questions of football integrity continue to be raised.
There are gaps in the investigation and prosecution of corruption related occurrences that make it difficult to completely rid our football institutions of corruption.
In the most recent case involving AshGold and Inter Allies, certain lapses in the investigation, evidence provided and judgement have been identified. These lapses could affect the enforcement of the ruling should the parties involved appeal the decision.
There is no simple answer to the question “how to get rid of corruption in our major sports institutions” when even at the national level corruption is still running riot.
However, some measures can be put in place for better prosecution and investigation of these activities.
One such measure is the thorough investigation of ‘corruption and bribery allegations’ made or noticed in the football space. Investigating match-fixing, bribery and corruption allegations can be very difficult due to the lack of concrete evidence that can be used for prosecution.
The lack of conclusive evidence is a blockage to effective justice in these cases and should be improved. The establishment and empowerment of the GFA Compliance and Integrity Office to investigate allegations is a step in the right direction. The office needs more resources in order to track games across the country that have possibility of manipulation.
Expedited prosecution in cases that contravene the laws of Ghana can get rid of corruption in the game of football. After the number 12 exposé, the case involving the embattled GFA boss, Nyantakyi, was presented in court but was dismissed due to the prosecution failing to file its witness statements more than a year after case management started. State prosecutors then moved to a different court to have the case heard in June 2021 yet, the case is still undetermined after another year. Other cases like the one involving AshGold could take the same turn meaning that there is no criminal conviction that can serve as a deterrent to engaging in manipulation.
The integrity of Ghana’s football remains at risk despite some gains made in the last two years. It is difficult to completely rid the game of football when on the national level it is still rife. Recent allegations of match-fixing at the tail end of the 2021/22 should be thoroughly investigated by officials of the Compliance and Integrity unit of the GFA despite the retraction of the statement. The findings of the investigation should be made public and if found to be frivolous, the individual who made these allegations punished severely for bringing the game into disrepute.
These steps might be viewed as small, but would consolidate gains made in ensuring the integrity of the game.
EL-WRITES (ELTON NANA AMOAH) 