Stop bribing referees - Referee Wellington cautions

FIFA and CAF referee’s instructor Joseph Wellington has called on club owners and administrators to stop offering bribes to referees and rather channel the bribe monies into preparing their teams very well enough to win games.

“Bribery destroys the beauty of the Ghanaian game, so I beg all those who are into that business to please stop it and use approve means to win matches.”

Bribing of referees has been a constant allegation that flies in the face of referees every season to the extent that club administrators come out to accuse fellow club administrators in the open of bribing referees to influence games in the league.

This feature according to Mr. Wellington would be a thing of the past if the club owners behave themselves in more civilized manner.

“Stop giving bribes to referees and they would stop taking it, bribery mars the beauty of the game, so I beg all those who are into that business to please stop it and rather channel the bribe into preparing their teams to come out better results.”

He revealed that in the coming season, referees would resist bribes and probably report the givers to the appropriate authorities for sanctions.

He debunked the assertion that referees cannot do away with bribe, adding that most referees in Ghana are not in the job for monetary gains.

“Refereeing is a hobby we love, we have members who are policemen, immigration officers, teachers and big business men and women who are well to do in life and do not live on refereeing.”

Speaking on Happy FM on Friday, the retired referee, however, noted that those who do not resist and go on to accept bribes would be eliminated them from the list of referees and banish for good.

He stated that, they have taken the referees through some serious orientation and prepared them very well for the upcoming season and they are ready to officiate free and fair.