Sports
Hunting for proper ‘Knights of the Whistle’
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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
Accra Hearts of Oak and Dreams FC will headline Matchday 5 of the Ghana Premier League when the two sides meet at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium tomorrow, with both clubs seeking a result that could shape their early season campaign.
The encounter comes at a crucial moment for the two sides with the Phobians looking to recover from their first defeat of the campaign and Dreams still searching for their first victory after four matches.
The Rainbow lads started the season strongly but were beaten 1-0 by Karela United last weekend, while Dreams suffered a slim 1-0 defeat to Bechem United.
Hearts had earlier recorded impressive victories over Berekum Chelsea and Bibiani Gold Stars before drawing goalless with Bechem United, leaving the club with seven points from their opening four matches.
Their defeat at Karela United, however, means they will be under pressure to quickly return to winning ways against a Dreams side determined to make home advantage count.
Dreams, meanwhile, have endured a difficult beginning to the campaign and will see tomorrow’s fixture as an opportunity to change their fortunes.
The ‘Still Believe’ side have collected points from only their opening draws and are yet to register a victory, making the meeting with one of the country’s traditional giants an important test of their character.
Elsewhere, Vision FC will welcome Bibiani Gold Stars to the Nii Adjei Kraku II Sports Complex today, with both teams looking to strengthen their positions.
Vision have shown encouraging form in the early stages, while Gold Stars will be seeking a response after suffering a 2-0 home defeat to newcomers Port City FC.
At the Debibi Presby Park, newly promoted Debibi United will face defending champions Medeama SC tomorrow.
Medeama finally opened their account with a convincing 4-1 victory over Basake Holy Stars and will be hoping that the result marks the beginning of a stronger title defence.
Port City FC will continue their impressive debut campaign when they host Bechem United at the Daasebere Boamah Darko II Park.
Basake Holy Stars will attempt to recover from their heavy defeat to Medeama when they host Berekum Chelsea at the Ampain AAK II Sports Arena.
Aduana FC will welcome Swedru All Blacks to the Nana Agyemang Badu I Park after producing one of the weekend’s most notable results last Sunday.
At the Kpando Stadium, Heart of Lions will host FC AshantiGold ’04 in another meeting between sides coming off victories.
FC Samartex 1996 will meanwhile welcome Young Apostles FC to the Nsenkyire Sports Arena, with the home side seeking to maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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Tuesday, September 29, 2026 would go into the annals of Ghana football as one of the darkest days for the Black Stars.
In an AFCON 2027 qualifier against The Gambia, the Black Stars did not only break the hearts of the fans, but conceded a defeat that left followers with sleepless nights.
Coming from a Matchday 1 defeat to the Elephants of La Cote d’Ivoire in Bouake, the outcome of the second game against The Gambia was one that was non-negotiable.
It had the ability to spark a revival to contend for one of the slots for the next AFCON showpiece.
The Gambia is a formidable side but definitely, not one to have frustrated Ghanaians to watch in pain and awe the Black Stars lose a game from a winning position.
That is a possibility in the game of football but when the stakes are high in such cases, it becomes unacceptable to the fans.
And grievously has Carlos Queiroz answered the massive call for his resignation.
At his post-match press conference, he made it clear that bowing out was the easiest decision but insisted that would not solve the myriad problems facing the Black Stars.
For the coach to be fired two days after that declaration raises a lot of concerns as he seem to be aware of existing problems the FA may even not know.
Unfortunately, coaches over the years have always been sacrificial lambs in situations of this nature but when he talks about particular problems affecting the team, his sack leaves much to be desired.
That aside, it is important to also take another look at the country’s pool of players, both local and foreign based.
Some of us have been advocates for forming the Black Stars around the ever-present local players who may lack the skill, finesse and flamboyance believed to give the foreign based players the edge over their local counterparts.
The locals, however, compensate that with their commitment and dedication.
Sadly, it appears this consistent call have fallen on deaf ears and no one wants to give any attention to that.
If the fear is that results would be poor, then that would be no excuse again following outcomes of the Stars in their last two games.
From what was witnessed in Bouake and Accra, one can confidently boast that there isn’t much difference between the foreign based players and the locals.
If there is any, it would probably be the treatment given to the two sets of players.
The call on the FA now is to give major consideration to the local players. Any coach that sees no good in the local players must have no business handling the national team.
That does not also shut the door on the ‘foreigners’. We witnessed how the early 90s teams were beautifully blended to have a formidable team.
It is time the FA goes back to the basics. With the locals, there can be more camps, leading to improved cohesion. Any foreign based player invited must settle into the team quickly and make a difference. That is the only way to rescue the Black Stars from its free fall.
By Andrew Nortey
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