Two men who recently approached Ghana FA president, Kwesi Nyantakyi, seeking to fix Black Stars friendly matches without his knowledge have been arrested by the police in Ghana.
Christopher Forsythe and Obed Nketiah were arrested by investigators from Ghana’s police last week after a report was filed by the Ghana FA and Nyantakyi. They have been granted police bail while their statements over the match-fixing scam were taken and travel restrictions placed on them to allow investigators question them whenever they are required. “The two were arrested separately by the police last week, and they were bailed with the surety of appearing any time they are wanted in connection with this investigation,” a police spokesman has said.
Two weeks ago, the duo, baited by The Daily Telegraph and Channel 4 television’s Dispatches program in London in an undercover investigation, approached Nyantakyi seeking the mandate to organise Black Stars’ friendly matches for the next one year. Unknown to Nyantakyi, Forsythe and Nketiah had been secretly filmed claiming they will fix matches for the Black Stars if they are handed the mandate to organise the matches.
A contract they handed to the president from the undercover reporters said that Diamond Capital would have been involved in choosing the referees, which is prohibited by FIFA because officials can influence games and results. They also claimed they needed $30,000 to bribe Ghana FA officials to get them to agree to the deal.
But the Ghana FA president’s separately recorded explanation to the undercover reporters he had not read the contract and had forwarded it to the federation’s legal committee for advice was sneeringly brushed aside by the Daily Telegraph. The newspaper hastily concluded that because the president had agreed to a trial run, even though he said it would need the approval of the legal committee, meant he had agreed to match fixing. This resulted in Nyantakyi reporting the matter to FIFA, CAF and the Ghana Police, calling for a full and independent investigation into the matter.
The police arrested Nketiah on Thursday as he arrived from England while Forsythe, who was already in the country, was arrested four days earlier. Meanwhile, the Ghana FA president is expected to travel to London next week to meet with lawyers over the report in the Telegraph and Channel Four with the view of suing the British media outfits.
He has also asked FIFA and CAF to investigate the matter to clear his name.
