Lewis Whyld was photographing members of the team as they boarded their bus outside the Radisson hotel in Maceio, northern Brazil, when officials grabbed his camera and told police he was a “threat to our team”.
The Ghanaians have responded angrily to The Telegraph’s disclosure that Kwesi Nyantakyi, the president of their Football Association, discussed the team taking part in rigged matches.
Police had to intervene when Whyld met with a heavy-handed response as he stood in a street at the back of the Radisson hotel, where he was hoping to take a photograph of Mr Nyantakyi.
When a Ghanaian team official noticed Whyld, he confronted him, saying: “Where is your accreditation? You can’t film this. We don’t want you to film this.”
Whyld replied: “I’m in a street with hundreds of people.”
The official said: “You are not in a street with hundreds of people, you are particularly targeting us.”
A policeman stationed outside the hotel intervened, as the Ghanaian official said: “We don’t want you around our team. You are a threat to our team. Daily Telegraph - we don’t want you around our team. You lie about us, we don’t want you around our team. Arrest him.”
Whyld said: “For what?”
The official responded: “For putting false information about Ghana on their website. He is doing that. Look, look at the s--- he is doing. This is what he is doing.”
Another Ghanaian official tried to grab Whyld’s camera, and the police ushered Whyld away as the first Ghanaian took a picture of him, later claiming, falsely, on Twitter that he had been arrested.
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