{"id":192704,"date":"2021-11-22T12:15:11","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T20:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=192704"},"modified":"2021-11-22T12:28:59","modified_gmt":"2021-11-22T20:28:59","slug":"ghana-denies-match-fixing-claim-in-south-africa-world-cup-qualifier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ghana-denies-match-fixing-claim-in-south-africa-world-cup-qualifier\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghana Football Assn. Denies Match-Fixing in South Africa Soccer World Cup Qualifier"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ghana\u2019s soccer governing body has reacted angrily to accusations that a final group World Cup qualifying game played between \u201cthe Black Stars,\u201d its national team, and South Africa was fixed.<\/p>\n

\"Ghana
South Africa\u2019s Daniel de Reuck weeps after his team failed to qualify for the World Cup after Ghana was awarded a dubious penalty at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium, Ghana, November 14. (Image: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) said in a statement to FIFA dated November 14 that the insinuations made by South Africa\u2019s soccer association were unfounded and should be dismissed with a \u201cpunitive fine and a huge cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe South African Football Association (SAFA) has cast fake doubts on the integrity of the World Cup brand and the Black Stars, sadly without any shred of evidence, and this should be punished severely,\u201d the GFA wrote.<\/p>\n

A day after the controversial game, SAFA demanded a full investigation by FIFA\u2019s disciplinary committee. It also launched an official protest in relation to alleged \u201cmatch-fixing<\/a> and match manipulation\u201d and the alleged \u201cwrongful and unlawful conduct of the match referee and other officials.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dubious Penalty<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The South African team, nicknamed \u201cBafana Bafana,\u201d visited Ghana\u2019s Cape Coast Sports Stadium eight days ago needing to avoid defeat to gain automatic qualification for Qatar 2022.<\/p>\n

Their hosts needed to win by just one goal to draw level on points and secure the single qualifying spot themselves by virtue of a superior goal difference.<\/p>\n

\n

The game hinged on an incident in the 32nd minute when Ghana midfielder Daniel Amartey fell to the ground inside the box with little apparent contact from South Africa\u00a0defender Rushine de Reuck.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Senegalese referee Maguette N’Diaye’ awarded a penalty, which was converted by Ghana\u2019s Andre Ayew. The referee also yellow-carded de Reuck<\/p>\n

It was the only goal in a game in which very few referring decisions went South Africa’s way.<\/p>\n

Match-fixing Expos\u00e9<\/strong><\/h2>\n

While it may hold no bearing on this game, Ghana and match-fixing have a history, at least within the country\u2019s domestic league.<\/p>\n

In 2018, a documentary by Ghanian investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas led to the resignation of then-GFA president Kwesi Nyantakyi. He was filmed apparently soliciting bribes.<\/p>\n

Anas uncovered widespread match-fixing, implicating an extraordinary 77 Ghanaian referees and 14 GFA officials in various acts of corruption.<\/p>\n

In September, a player who had previously been hailed a hero for taking a stand against match-fixing was himself charged with manipulating a game. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Inter Allies\u2019 defender Hashmin Musah<\/a> scored two deliberate own goals during his team\u2019s 7-0 defeat to Ashanti Gold in Ghanaian Premier League.<\/p>\n

Musah claimed he was attempting to sabotage a plot to fix the game at 5-0 for the benefit of a gambling syndicate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ghana\u2019s soccer governing body has reacted angrily to accusations that a final group World Cup qualifying game played between \u201cthe Black Stars,\u201d its national team, and South Africa was fixed. The Ghana Football Association (GFA) said in a statement to FIFA dated November 14 that the insinuations made by South Africa\u2019s soccer association were unfounded […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":192707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,16],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGhana Denies Match-Fixing Claim in South Africa World Cup Qualifier<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ghana match-fixing accusation angrily denied by Ghana Football Association following 1-0 defeat versus South Africa in World Cup qualifier.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ghana-denies-match-fixing-claim-in-south-africa-world-cup-qualifier\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ghana Denies Match-Fixing Claim in South Africa World Cup Qualifier\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ghana match-fixing accusation angrily denied by Ghana Football Association following 1-0 defeat versus South Africa in World Cup qualifier.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ghana-denies-match-fixing-claim-in-south-africa-world-cup-qualifier\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-22T20:15:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-22T20:28:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Rushine-De-Reuck-Bafana-Bafana.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ghana-denies-match-fixing-claim-in-south-africa-world-cup-qualifier\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ghana-denies-match-fixing-claim-in-south-africa-world-cup-qualifier\/\",\"name\":\"Ghana Denies Match-Fixing Claim in South Africa World Cup Qualifier\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ghana-denies-match-fixing-claim-in-south-africa-world-cup-qualifier\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ghana-denies-match-fixing-claim-in-south-africa-world-cup-qualifier\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Rushine-De-Reuck-Bafana-Bafana.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-22T20:15:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-22T20:28:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Ghana match-fixing accusation angrily denied by Ghana Football Association following 1-0 defeat versus South Africa in World Cup qualifier.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ghana-denies-match-fixing-claim-in-south-africa-world-cup-qualifier\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ghana-denies-match-fixing-claim-in-south-africa-world-cup-qualifier\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ghana-denies-match-fixing-claim-in-south-africa-world-cup-qualifier\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Rushine-De-Reuck-Bafana-Bafana.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Rushine-De-Reuck-Bafana-Bafana.jpg\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"South Africa\u2019s Daniel de Reuck weeps after his team failed to qualify for the World Cup after Ghana was awarded a dubious penalty earlier this month. 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