Referee Amoah accuses Charles Ntim of bribery

Techiman City owner, Charles Kwadwo Ntim has been exposed as one of the arch-destroyers of football in Ghana after being accused by a long-standing top-flight referee of engaging in high-profile bribery over the years.

Referee Prince Amoah, who is serving a long-term ban for alleged corruption, has fingered the City owner as the chief architect of influencing match officials.

He claimed the former disc jockey tried unsuccessfully to influence him.

“Micky Charles sent people to bribe me to aid Techiman City secure qualification into the Ghana Premier League. I refused and have since become his number one enemy,” he said on Asempa FM.

“A guy called Cash, an accomplice of Micky Charles, and four others, came to my hotel with GHC4,000. They told me to take my share as the centre referee and give the rest to my assistants. I refused. While they were insisting, my assistant, Alex Annin, heard the noise and came to my room. I asked Annin to deal with them since I was not interested.

“We still refused the money. Finally they told us to take it as a refund of our travelling expenditure. I told them to keep it for us since we will not be returning to the hotel after the game and cannot also keep that quantum of money in the dressing room.

“I told them that because the general perception is that if you refuse to take it, then you have already taken something from the opponents. They left and I never saw them again after the game,” he narrated.

He added: “Previously, they had played against their local rivals- Eleven Wonders. In that game, Micky Charles needed a win to qualify to the Premier League again after they were relegated.

“Micky Charles sent Zion, another accomplice, to give me money. I met them at the Charge Office in Techiman and they asked me to charge them any amount to aid them win the game. I strongly refused and told them I am not like that.

“But they sent a policeman called Antwi to bribe me with GHC3000 but I refused and asked him to go away since he was my senior in the police service.

“He took the money away and whether he gave the money to them or not, I can’t tell. Techiman City lost the game 2-0 to Eleven Wonders and I was severely beaten after the game.

“So refusing all those attempts, Micky Charles thinks I hate him and that has been the genesis of his hatred for me,” he added.

The damning claim flies in the face of attempts to rid the game of corrupt officials.