“Ashgold, Inter Allies players who went to CAS and were granted a stay are going to be compensated” – Prosper Harrison Addo clears air

Prosper Harrison Addo, the General Secretary of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), has stated that the organization will not compensate all players involved in the match-fixing game between Ashantigold SC and Inter Allies FC two seasons ago.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favor of the players who featured in the match during the 2020/21 season, overturning all punishments imposed by the Ghana FA, including the ban on the said players. The CAS ruling resulted in a fine of 9,300 Swiss Francs on the Ghana FA.

Initially, the GFA’s Disciplinary Committee had sanctioned 21 players for their alleged involvement in manipulating the match’s results, which ended with Ashantigold winning 7-0 at the Len Clay Stadium in Obuasi.

The Professional Football Association of Ghana (PFAG), through the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro), filed for a stay of execution pending an appeal on behalf of the players. CAS upheld the stay of execution, temporarily lifting the players’ bans to allow them to continue playing for their desired clubs competitively.

After several months, CAS annulled the sanctions imposed on the players by the Ghana FA. The domestic football governing body has also been directed to pay Richmond Nii Lamptey an amount of 3000 Swiss Francs as contributions towards his legal fees and other expenses related to the arbitration proceedings. This is in connection with Asante Kotoko SC’s appeal of the Ghana FA’s decision for the player, who had switched camps from Allies.

In an audio aired on Kessben FM, the FA’s General Secretary clarified that the GFA will comply with the CAS ruling but will only compensate the players who protested the case at CAS.

“If you are dissatisfied with a ruling of the Appeals Committee, you go to CAS as enshrined in our laws and these players went to CAS, first of all, they got a stay and the FA complied. I have seen people write, all the players have been exonerated, no, it is not all the players because some of them did not appeal the decision at CAS”

“Players who went to CAS and were granted a stay are going to be compensated. The decision does not affect any other person or institution that did not go to CAS. So, we welcome the decision, it’s a CAS decision and we will comply fully” he said.