Nii Lante reveals Black Stars players begged him to pay referees during World Cup qualification

Former Sports Minister Nii Lante Vanderpuije has revealed that he was begged by some Black Stars players to entice referees during the qualification process for the 2018 World Cup.

According to him, some players of the national team came to his office to plead with him to make "classified payments" to match officials handling Ghana's games.

He said he was told that such payments to referees needed to be made if the Black Stars were to qualify for the World Cup in Russia.

The Member of Parliament said he was scandalized by the request and rejected it outright.

“National team players came to my office to plead with me to end the sort of adventures I am having with the FA and give them the money to be able to pay the unclassified payments so that we will qualify for the World Cup,” Nii Lante told Accra-based Citi FM.

The former Sports Minister made these revelations following an exposé by investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, which uncovered rots and corruption within the Ghana Football Association.

Several high-profile members of the GFA, including the Association's president, Kwesi Nyantakyi, were captured engaging in various acts of corruption in the said video.

Nii Lante, however, refused to name the Black Stars players who approached him to pay referees, insisting he does not want to damage their reputation.

"I don't want to injure the reputation of these players because they are playing in Europe," he said.

Meanwhile, the Government of Ghana has dissolved the Ghana Football Association following the scandalous revelations in the Anas exposé.

This was communicated in letter from the Presidency on Thursday.

The statement said all football-related activities in the country have also been suspended with immediate effect.