Retired Ghanaian referee, Emmanuel Okoampah has detailed how a minister under the Rawlings administration instructed him to show bias in a football game between Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
Without giving details of the date of the match, ex-referee Okoampah disclosed that the game which was a Presidential cup played during the Rawlings administration had the presence of then Vice President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills.
Emmanuel Okompah recounts that prior to the start of the match at the Accra Stadium, a minister whose identity he declined to reveal approached him and his team of match officials and asked them to ensure that Hearts of Oak win the game.
He said on Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV that after the talk with the said minister, he warned his assistant referees against any form of bias in the game.
He reminded them of their oath to be fair and firm in the application of the rules that govern the game.
Referee Okompah said that during the first half of the game, players of Hearts of Oak were falling over in anticipation of fouls but he stood his ground.
He added the said minister bumped into their changing room during the half-time break and protested the conduct of him and his assistants.
“I handled a game between them (Hearts) and Kotoko and they won. Two weeks after I was assigned to a game between them and Kotoko again. It was an anniversary cup. We were in the dressing room when a minister came. It wasn’t ET Mensah.
“He told us that the cup must stay in Accra which means Hearts had to win. We responded in the affirmative but once he left I told the linesmen that our reputation was at stake and that we should handle the game without any bias. I told them to be fair but they were tensed. In the first half, the Hearts players were falling apart looking for a penalty but I ignored them.
“After the first half break, the man came into the dressing room protesting that some big men were not happy with our decisions. He was a minister under Rawlings but I won't mention his name,” he said.
Officiating has been mentioned as a reason for the lack of patronage of the Ghana Premier League.
The league is suffering to draw supporters and many have cited officiating as one of the reasons that push away fans.
