Sports
Hunting for proper ‘Knights of the Whistle’
Officiating is the rock-layer of every sporting endeavour – peculiarly football.
Take it out and the game would stagger to a messy halt – most likely cascading into an orgy of preventable ‘blood-letting’ on the pitch – not to talk about the indignity it broadly spews out.
The sear of anguish and the torrent of pain of the May 9, 2001 disaster that recorded 127 deaths at the Accra Sports Stadium during a Premier League game between Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko, is still freshly etched on our minds.
Indeed, referees are the lifeblood of the game and wield a lot of power and authority as to making and unmaking the game with their kind of decisions. When the referee performs creditably well, he is lauded by the majority of supporters – even if their clubs lose.
On the reverse, the officials are given a bad name and hanged when they perform shoddily.
Indeed, the most unpleasant thing a club can experience is to suffer defeat through a bout of biased officiating!
Such cases are replete in our various leagues nationwide. It is almost a weekly trauma for some of the clubs that have no option, but to bear the agony and go through the painful motion.
Distressingly, the perpetrators – the centre referees and some of the assistant referees, have almost always walked away scot-free to enjoy their booties (bribes) – not giving a damn to the ‘carnage’ they may have caused.
Many of such disgraceful officials have been weeded out by the ‘Number 12’ Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ investigative piece. The rest may be hanging around to strike when the iron is hot. They have to be smoked out and cleared from the system in order to give football a new lease of life.
That is why one was highly thrilled to learn of efforts the Ghana Football Association (GFA) is taking to replenish its stock of referees – badly depleted after the Anas’ work that affected a decent number of the nation’s top brass.
About 75 referees were affected by the investigation as the ‘knights of the whistle’ were caught on camera collecting bribes to plunge the game into disrepute.
Later, the Referees Association of Ghana (RAG) emerged that it had exonerated 14 and suspended or banned 61 referees because there was no evidence beyond reasonable doubt to validate allegations of corruption and bribery against them.
CAF and FIFA had already banned the referees on the list of the RAG.
Three months after the allegations first surfaced, RAG found 61 referees culpable on charges of bribery and corruption.
Subsequently, the body splashed out 10-year suspensions to 53 referees and banned another eight for life after studying footage from the investigation, and 14 referees who appeared in the video were deemed to have no case to answer.
That is how badly bruised the refereeing situation in Ghana is; something the Referees Manager of the GFA – Alex Kotey – says he is fighting tooth-and-nail to reverse.
The GFA last Tuesday launched a ‘Catch them Young’ refereeing project to help recruit a new generation of young, budding and talented referees for the country.
Under the tag-line ‘Catch them Young Refereeing Policy,’ the move was to help replenish the stock left after the Anas exposé. Only three FIFA referees from the old stock – namely Daniel Laryea, Latif Adari, and Paul Atimaka, survived the ‘inferno.’
It is heartwarming to note that 10 new young promising referees are said to have managed to meander their way onto the FIFA list.
“Identifying young budding talents from the Senior High Schools (SHSs) and the tertiary levels and helping them develop the love and skills for refereeing and imbibing in them the spirit to upholding the integrity of the trade from this stage is one sure way of securing the future of refereeing in the country,” Mr Kotey asserted.
Steadily, Ghanaians were beginning to believe again in the local referee before the COVID-19 pandemic struck to put the season to ‘sleep’ in mid-March, this year.
One must add, however, that in its bid to stock up the referee deficit, the FA must make it a matter of urgency to institute a ‘snake-pit’ inquisition into their backgrounds. It is a crucial call!
Indeed, it is dangerous to open the doors to people whose backgrounds you are not certain of to join the noble world of officiating.
The integrity of referees in this country has been battered – though not beyond repairs – but we must ensure we do not worsen the situation. This is why the FA must do a lot more to fetch referees with integrity and moral uprightness into the fold as it charts a fresh course to bring sanity into the game.
PlainTalk with JOHN VIGAH
A little over six weeks ago, everything pointed to a Medeama SC coronation as 2025/26 Ghana Premier League (GPL) champions at the end of the season.
That sounds premature, considering the fact that there were close to about 15 matches before the curtain was drawn on the competition.
However, believers of that assumption were right with that call due to Medeama’s form and doughty-character.
Medeama has been fearless this season. They have been ruthless, sharp, composed and a very formidable opposition, dealing with what their opponents throw at them.
In fact, establishing a 17-game unbeaten run speaks volumes of the quality Medeama has shown this season.
Two people have been key in this transformational story – Coach Ibrahim Tanko and playmaker, Salim Adams.
As of Week 21, Medeama SC opened a yawning seven-point gap with 43 points, leading Aduana FC, Hearts of Oak and Gold Stars, all with 36 points without any indication of slowing down.
But the story has completely changed just four matches after, with Medeama currently occupying the top spot with a slim one point.
Worse of all is the failure to record a win in their last five games in the competition, surviving at the top with unfavourable results of their closest competitors.
That winless run has seen Medeama drawn in three games against Samartex FC, Aduana FC and Swedru All Blacks, and lost to Nations FC and Hohoe United.
The nature of the defeat to Hohoe United generated controversy among those who won’t accept that a penalty miss and an erratic clearance by goalkeeper Felix Kyei that gifted the Voltarians the winning goal were genuine errors.
Their recent falters should have been pleasant opportunities for second-placed Gold Stars, and Hearts of Oak to capture reins at the top, but strangely, they suffered challenges of their own; leaving Medeama hanging at the top.
These dynamics are beginning to paint a positive picture for the competition as clubs at the top fight for more points to take pole positions, wrest with strugglers who are also battling hard for survival.
Outside of the top three, with chances of assuming the top spot if the Medeama form does not see any improvement, are Karela United and Asante Kotoko.
Despite their struggles, they have an outside chance of joining the battle at the top with nine matches to go.
At this stage of the competition, the pressure will be on Coach Ibrahim Tanko and his Medeama charges. Having ‘bottled’ a seven-point gap to a single point, it is surely theirs to lose.
Tanko, in previous interviews, has parried questions over the pressure on him and the team, but their current predicament leaves much to be desired.
The next two months would witness intense battle at both ends of the table with as many as five clubs having reason to contest for the ultimate, with about the same number set for the late drama to escape the last two slots to join Eleven Wonders, who are the surest bet for demotion.
By Andrew Nortey
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A step closer to glory awaits six Ghana Premier League (GPL) club sides and two Division One clubs as they battle for spots at the semi-finals stage of the 2025-26 MTN FA Cup this weekend at the Cape Coast Stadium and the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park in Bechem.
Dreams FC, the 2022-2023 champions, will clash with Heart of Lions in the quarter-finals at the Cape Coast Stadium tomorrow at pm.
Heart of Lions are going through a difficult spell in the league, having lost ground on their title aspirations that started brightly.
Dreams FC thrashed Lions 3-0 in the reverse fixture of the GPL game in January after losing 1-0 in the first round tie, and tomorrow’s game comes in to settle the scores between the two sides this season.
Although struggling, Lions lie two places above Dreams’ 12th position on the league log and will look to take that inspiration into the game.
The day’s other game will see two-time champions Medeama SC battle Access Bank Division One League (DOL) Zone Three side Attram De Visser at the same venue at 7pm.
The GPL leaders Medeama SC are in the chase for a double this season and will chase a win to appease their fans.
After defeating Asante Kotoko 4-2 on penalties in the Round of 16, Aduana FC will seek to account for Access Bank DOL Zone One B campaigners, Techiman Liberty Youth, today.
Aduana FC are in the hunt for a double this season as they are currently third on the GPL table, trailing leaders Medeama SC with five points.
Having been decisive in matches against Nsuatre FC, Victory Club Warriors and Real Tamale United to get this far, the best in the annals of the club’s history, coach Ezekiel Nii Yeboah of Liberty Youth would be out to cause an upset.
At the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park in Bechem tomorrow, another interesting pairing is set to play out as the all-Premier League affair between Nations FC and Berekum Chelsea takes centre stage.
By Raymond Ackumey
