Asante Kotoko 2003 squad
Asante Kotoko, after winning the Ghana Premier League in 2003, could not get the due credit for it as it emerged that the club paid bribes throughout the season.
Kotoko were accused of buying 30 matches during the campaign that saw them win their first league title since 1992/1993.
Then manager Abdul Karim Razak, who steered the club to glory, had his efforts belittled as many attributed his achievement to paying bribes.
After 20 years of accusation and shouldering the shame, Razak has revealed that the management coined the issue of buying 30 games in order to fill the books after the life patron of the club, Otumfuo Osei II had demanded accountability at the end of the season.
"We went to see Otumfuo on Tuesday. We sat happily. All the Chiefs spoke and Otumfuo was the last to speak. He congratulated the support, playing body, and management, and thanked everybody. The last word that came out of his mouth was they(management) should come and give an account.
“We started to give ourselves side eyes and said 'this is a case'. He told them he is giving them four days, they should come and give an account. That was when they had to lie and said they bought 30 matches, why? They should have just chopped their heads off. Kotoko was able to buy 30 matches? Then they should buy every day. So he(Otumfuo) said he doesn't believe it, so he called us to the palace again..." he told Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV on YouTube.
He continued that the King of the Ashanti Kingdom demanded the resignation of the management.
"We had a friendly match in Ouagadougou, so he told them to resign right after the trip. Why didn't he tell me to resign? he told me to go back to training and that he will come there the next morning. He came there to see if I was present. He gave me the team himself."
Abdul Razak was appointed manager in 2003 and guided the team to three titles: the Ghana Premier League, the GHALCA Top 4, and the SWAG Cup.
Watch Abdul Razak's narration via the video below from 1:05:20
EE/KPE
