Retired Referee Narrates How Ghana FA Officials Forced Him to Manipulate Games

• A Ghanaian referee has revealed that he was pressured by the Ghana Football Association to officiate in favour of some teams
• According to Stephen Nsor, some members of the Ghana FA ordered him to back Hearts of Oak to beat Elmina Sharks in an FA Cup game
• Stephen Nsor decided to make an early retirement from the profession following the constant pressure from some FA officials

Retired Ghanaian referee Stephen Nsor has made a shocking claim that he was forced to manipulate matches by some members of the Football Association.

Nsor was appointed to officiate the FA Cup clash between Hearts of Oak and Elmina Sharks at the Accra Sports Stadium in 2017.

Ahead of the game, Nsor claims some unnamed members of the Ghana FA allegedly ordered him to favour the Phobians to win in order to face arch-rivals Asante Kotoko.

The defending Ghana champions eventually won the game 2-0 but Nsor eventually decided to make an early retirement from the profession.

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In an interview Nimde3 FM, as quoted by GhanaWeb, Nsor said:

"I went for Hearts and Elmina Sharks game some years back," he told Nimde3 FM.

"It was an FA Cup game around somewhere in 2017. Before the game, some gurus at the FA influenced the match – some are still there.

"They forced us to let Hearts of Oak win so that they can meet Kotoko [in the final]. I am telling you. Just to let Hearts of Oak win. It was played in Accra.

The Ghana Football Association has come under severe criticism for manipulating matches in recent years.

Last year, the South African Football Association (SAFA) lodged a complaint against Senegalese referee Maguette N'diaye who officiated the World Cup qualifying game against Ghana in March.

According to SAFA, N'diaye awarded a hotly disputed penalty and among many questionable decisions, which propelled Ghana to a slender 1-0 after converting the penalty to reaching the final phase of qualification.

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The Black Stars went ahead to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar after beating Nigeria in the play-offs.

Ghanaian Referee Slapped With Heavy Suspension

Sports Brief earlier reported that referee Kenny Padi, the referee who handled the second installment of Ghana's version of the El Classico between Hearts and Kotoko at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, has been suspended for the rest of the season.

The centre referee was slapped with the heavy punishment on the back of a contentious penalty he awarded to Asante Kotoko which resulted in the only goal of the Super Clash on April 10.

The punishment means Kenny Padi will not be eligible to officiate any Ghana Football Association-organized match for the remainder of the season.