Fred Achie explains FIFA's 'twisted' response to Muftawu Nabila
Ghana beat South Africa in FIFA World Cup qualifiers
Ghana Football Association Executive Council member Fred Achie has said FIFA reviewing Ghana-South Africa World Cup qualifiers would not affect the match results.
Black Stars defender Amartey won a penalty for Ghana as Dede Ayew made no mistake in converting it to give the team a 1-0 win that edged out South Africa to book a play-off spot.
The South African FA has sent a complaint to FIFA to have a re-look at the match-defining incident and probably call for a replay.
Multimedia Journalist, Muftawu Nabila Abdulai, wrote to the World's football governing body to verify whether or not SAFA has officially lodged the complaint. FIFA respond that it has received and "will review it".
After posting the response on social media, some local media reported the story with a caption that indicated FIFA is set to investigate the match.
Concerning this, Fred Achie explained FIFA's response to Kessben FM.
"He wrote to them to find out whether indeed South Africa lodged a complaint with them, and they said yes, they have received it, and they are reviewing it. It does not mean they have opened an investigation. They (South Africa) brought the complaint, and they (FIFA) have received, and they will be reviewed…" he said
He added that the outcome of the review would not affect the results of the match.
"I will take you back to 2017. Ghana, we did a similar thing. In a match against Uganda, we scored what everyone saw as a perfect goal, but the referee disallowed, referee Bennet from South Africa disallowed it. We sent a similar thing to FIFA, and they said they would review it. After reviewing, they saw there is no substance. The referee has made his decision on the pitch. And if anything, they will deal with the referee, like suspension and whatever. But as to overturn the results on the pitch, no.
"Unless it is an unethical matter…but if you complain about the referee's performance on the pitch, FIFA will give it to the review panel. They will sit down and analyze the referee's performance…So they will review it and see if there is any action to be taken against the referee, they will take action against the referee."
GFA Exco member, Fredrick Acheampong