The ban issued by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to Ashanti Gold SC is set to serve as a strong warning to other clubs that engage in betting and match manipulation.
The Ghana FA on Monday, May 16, 2022, confirmed that the Miners have been banned from the Ghana Premier League and demoted to the Division Two League after it found the club guilty of betting allegations from last season during the match against Inter Allies FC.
“Ghana Premier League side, Ashantigold Sporting Club, has been demoted to Division Two, Ghana’s 3rd tier league, after being found guilty of match manipulation.
“The action relates to a Ghana Premier League game at the end of the 2020/2021 season when Ashantigold beat Inter Allies by 7-0. An Allies player, Hashmin Musah, scored two own goals and later admitted his action was to spoil a bet placed on the said game,” a summary of the punishment rads.
Meanwhile, the club’s President, Dr. Kwaku Frimpong, and his son, Emmanuel Frimpong, who is the club’s Chief Executive Officer, have also been banned from football activities for 10 years and 8 years respectively.
The harsh punishment is to serve as a deterrent to all local clubs that engage in match-fixing and use some games to do betting.