Former Ghana FA head Kwesi Nyantakyi denies accepting cash gift

Kwesi Nyantakyi, the former boss of Ghana football Association (GFA) and the second most influential person in the African football has denied accepting any cash gift and has termed the recently released documentary video in that regard as a lie.

He was seen accepting $65,000 cash from an undercover reporter in the concerned sting operation.

Mr Nyantakyi is of the opinion that the footage is doctored and has dismissed it as nothing but a shoddy work involving simple cut-and-paste.

He has also emphasised that the audio snippets in the video have been deliberately inserted and rearranged with the purpose of falsely incriminating him.

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The repercussions of the sting

Anas Aremayaw Anas, the controversial journalist had recently released hours of footage related to this scandal through BBC Africa Eye. While he hasn’t yet responded to the ex-GFA boss’s allegations, the local media has quoted him saying that Mr Nyantakyi’s claim that he was being refunded for travel expenses is a lie.

The video showed over 100 different football administrators and officials accepting gifts in the form of cash. It has left a large number of Ghana football fans and general public in deep shock.

FIFA, the governing body of the football world has strict rules against accepting any bribes. Mr Nyantakyi had to resign from his FIFA posts as well as from Confederation of American Football (CAF) once the said footage was made public recently.

Mr Nyantakyi was expected to seek re-election in 2019 earlier, however, that seems highly unlikely now.

All the association members shown on the tape are currently being investigated by the police. The video also shows Adel Range Marwa, the Kenyan referee who was scheduled to officiate in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, receiving a $ 600 cash gift in another sting operation.

The undercover reporter shown in the film pretends to be a businessman keen on investing into Ghanaian football. He puts forth plenty of cash in front of Mr Nyantakyi and says that it’s only for shopping right now.

Mr Nyantakyi can then be seen taking all the money and putting it into a plastic bag. He has alleged that the phrase ‘shopping for now’ is nothing but a voice-over. He has also disputed the amount of cash given.

Talking to the press Mr Nyantakyi has claimed, “I was handed the sum of $40,000... but not $65,000... which... [I] understood to be reimbursement for the travel costs incurred by me.”

The investigative documentary has raised plenty of questions about how football is being played in Ghana.