Eddy Doku urges club administrators to stop paying bribes

Eddy Doku, a member of the Executive Committee of the Ghana Football Association and a member of the Referees Appointment Committee has advised the various club administrators to stop paying bribes if they want referees to continue officiating matches.

Match day 23 was played between Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Dreams FC at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Sunday and was officiated by Nathan Annafo. In the 88th minutes, the referee awarded a controversial penalty to the home team. Various coaches that played away in the match day 23 fixtures bitterly complained about the attitude of referees.

The administrative manager of Dream FC, Ameenu Shardow described the referee as an armed robber due to the way he awarded penalty to Kotoko. Indeed many football fans who have watched the play back of the video shows clearly that it was not a penalty.

Interim coach of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, Michael Osei after match said if care is not taken someone will die one day. His statement has generated a lot controversies on why he said that but the a member of the referees appointment committee member Eddy Doku believes that if club administrators wants officials to officiates matches then they should stop paying bribes to referees.

Speaking to Asempa Sports, Doku said, “I am a bit surprised because you can’t call any referee an armed robber or a murderer because he has not committed any crime.

“If you have anything that is bordering you, you refer it to the referee review committee but concerning Kotoko and Dreams FC, I have watched the video but we shouldn’t jump into conclusion that it was not a penalty or not but I will personally report the incident to the committee because what I saw I think nothing critically happened so I will send it to the committee for them to determine it.

“We will need prayers and as I speak I am having clubs that I am running at the lower divisions and when I sit at the bench and watch some attitude of the referees I will say it incompetence or human error but it is different in the Premiership and as I speak there are eight referees that have been punished already but I can again assure the clubs that there are good referees among them.

He continued, “My position as the Committee Chairman of the Referees Appointment Committee, it is my core duty to ensure that we get good referees to officiates our league matches but I will also like to say that the club administrators should also stop paying bribes but we should rather come together and repair the damages in our football if we want the league to progress.

“I don’t have control on the club administrators but I have absolute power over the referees so I am telling the referees that they should always go and do their best any day on the field of play and I am saying that if you are referee and you are being caught at the review panel, you will be punished and you will never return back to officiate matches.” Doku added.