Another wild goose chase?

Just as fighting corruption in Ghana is as fruitless as chasing after the wind, so seems the case when it comes to ridding Ghana Football of bribery and match-fixing. It is next to impossiblity!

That is why I treat any attempt by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to purge itself by way of finding scapegoats to deter others with a pinch of salt.

The latest controversy to hit Ghana Football in that regard is the outright demotion of two Division One League (DOL) clubs - Techiman City and Wa African United - for bribery and match-fixing. The GFA Ethics Committee found the two clubs guilty of conniving to influence the outcome of their 22nd week league match at Damongo.

In addition to that high-handed punishment was the six-month ban of the CEOs of the two clubs.

The Committee, chaired by DCOP Kofi Boakye, arrived at that unfortunate decision which was made public last Monday after hearing some key officials of both clubs. Upon hearing the news, the first question I asked myself was whether this case would not die a natural death like the others before it.

Hours before the announcement, I overheard the President of Techiman City, Charles Kwadwo Ntim, aka Mickey Charles, on radio questioning whether the Ethics Committee had the right to demote a club in the first place? By inference, my good friend Mickey Charles might be planning to contest his six-month ban, as well as his club’s demotion to division Two.

Since the ruling, all kinds of conspiracy theories have popped up, with one school of thought claiming that it was a grand design to pave the way for RTU’s return to the premiership. Only time will tell whether those allegations have any substance or not.

For now, my main concern has to do with how far the GFA can travel with this case if the Ethics Committee decision stands at the end of the day.

In 2007, the GFA took a bold decision to expel Mighty Jets and Nania FC for taking the association to court contrary to the FA statutes. As part of the sanctions, the Maestro Abedi Ayew Pele was also banned for one year following his club’s 31-0 victory over Okwawu United in a Division One Middle League match at  Sekondi, while Great Mariners thrashed Mighty Jets 28-0 in Cape Coast. I knew that case was not going to end anywhere and I was vindicated. Five months on, Abedi’s ban was lifted and both Nania and Jets were later reinstated into Ghana Football till today.

Such an intriguing legal somersault can be likened to the way some desperate officials are scrambling for power in a clear defiance of the FA Regulations.

Based on the rampant machinations in the FA’s league system, I find it difficult to believe if any club or official can be truly punished when found guilty of bribery or match-fixing. For instance, results of some second round matches in the just-ended First Capital Plus Premier League left much to be desired, yet the custodians of Ghana Foootball are  behaving like ostriches.

The Ethics Committee hit the nail right on the head when it concluded thus: ‘Allegations of bribery and match-fixing have become so prevalent in our football matches and the time has come for all and sundry to assist in removing this negative notion. Therefore, any punishment should be deterrent enough to other teams and officials.

‘In this instance, the two teams are found guilty of bribery ostensibly to fix a match.’

We said DCOP Kofi Boakye and Co. but the big question is, how far can this ruling go?