Some Ghanaian referees spotted in the Anas Exposé footage were banned
The Referees Manager at the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Alex Neequaye Kotey, has revealed that all referees implicated in investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ Number 12 exposé have been barred from officiating matches in Ghana.
According to him, the GFA took this decision due to the damage those individuals inflicted on Ghanaian football.
Kotey noted that the association is focused on grooming young referees to fill the void rather than rehiring those involved in bribery allegations.
Alex Kotey speaks on poor officiating and VAR controversy on Sports Check
“As far as CAF was concerned especially the FIFA referees who were involved, of course, you have to leave. For those who were not FIFA referees, it will be very difficult for them to return, because considering the damage done, it wouldn’t be right. We have to start from scratch: go back, identify younger referees who were already in the system, and see how best we can bring them up,” Kotey told Benjamin Sackey on GhanaWeb TV.
He further added that, “We did that for a few about 350 selected referees at Sogakope. When Kurt [Okraku] came in again, we organized another session at Kasoa just to get a feel of the referees we had.
“We brought them in, took them through training, introduced new concepts, provided orientation, and worked on changing attitudes. We wanted them to know that it’s time to move on from the past and press forward.”
The Number 12 exposé, released in June 2018, revealed several Ghanaian referees accepting bribes to influence football matches, which led to bans and disciplinary action against those involved.
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Meanwhile, watch the latest Sports Check interview with Alex Kotey, the GFA Referees Manager below:
