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Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, Herbert Mensah, has urged the Ghana Football Association to be more proactive to help curb issues surrounding match-fixing and betting in topflight football.
According to him, the only way the alleged betting into our various games can be fix is ‘action’ and not the usual funfair manner of ‘talking.’
The Ghanaian Premier League has in recent times be hit with alleged match-fixing and betting with the freshest one being the much-talked about encounter between AshantiGold and Inter Allies in the 2020/21 season.
The game, played on Saturday, July 17, 2021, produced a 7-0 score line in favor of AshantiGold at the Obuasi Stadium.
In the said match, a former player of Inter Allies, Hashmin Musah came from the bench to score two bizarre own goals.
He thus revealed in a radio interview on Monday, July 19, 2021, to Kumasi-based Kumasi FM that his actions were deliberately due to what he uncovered before and during the game.
“I heard it in our hotel that there was a correct scoreline of 5 goals to 1 against my club Inter Allies. I decided to ruin that bet because I don’t condone betting”
“I promised my coach that if he allowed me to play from the bench, I would ruin the bet and after the game, my team congratulated me” he confessed.
However, barely a year after the disgraceful incident, the GFA has failed to take action despite the case been investigated by disciplinary committee of the football association.
But, Mr. Mensah, believes Mr. Kurt Okraku led administration must embark on steps to fight the growing match-fixing and betting menace than talking since that would not solve the matter.
“When it comes to football, we raise our heads and say, things are not perfect. We need to move in the right direction in Ghana, we need to tackle betting and gambling”
“We need to identify the problem even if the people at the top are involved in this terrible thing which is affecting the integrity of our game. You will not get sponsorship and money if you are seen to be involved in bad dealings. So Kurt needs to get a grip, he doesn’t need to just talk about it, he must fix it” he told a Kumasi-based media firm.
The astute football administrator then observed that the fight against betting and match-fixing is a collective efforts therefore government must get involved to make it a thing of the past.
“Government must also get involved. Together let us find a solution because my late father used to tell me all the time that ‘government is for the people’ and the narrative is true whether you are at the FA, ministry or somewhere else, you work for the people”
“Let’s do the little things and get it right and not sit down waiting for things to fall apart” said the Ghana Rugby Association president.
