Nigerian players, Andy Okpe, Issa Ali get two-year ban from football

Remo Stars forward, Andy Okpe and, Issa Ali have been slammed with a 24 month worldwide ban from football by Ghana Football Association for their involvement in a fixed match in the Ghana Premier League, GPL.

The Ghana Football Association [GFA] Disciplinary Committee announced this among other punishments to various parties involved in the said incident.

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.

The two Nigerians who were playing for Ashantigold FC as often were found guilty of their involvement in the fix but for failure to appear before the investigative panel.

Danso Wiredu Mensah (goalkeeper), Alex Aso and Abdulkadir Mohammed, ( all Ghanaians) were also banned for the same reason.

Meanwhile, players who featured in the match of convenience with Ashantigold have been handed different respective bans.

Four players, namely; Mohammed Zakari, Richard Acquaah, Shaibu Taufiq, and Felix Abuska have each received 24-month bans for their involvement in the said game.

Club officials were also not soared as the club’s President, Kwaku Frimpong, and his son, Emmanuel Frimpong, who is the club’s Chief Executive Officer, has also been banned from football activities for 10 years and 8 years respectively.

In addition, the club has been fined an amount of Ghs 100,000, the President was fined Ghs 100,000, and the CEO was fined Ghs 50,000.

Inter Allies meanwhile have been slapped with a GHC 100,000 fine.

Coach Felix Aboagye and Team Manager Reuben Adjetey have both been banned from all football-related activities for 2 years while Inter Allies player Fard Ibrahim was banned for 3 years for his role in the fixed match and also placing bets on multiple matches and competitions on his phone.

Musah, who scored two intentional own goals to scupper the fixed result was handed a reduced 6-month ban for his whistleblower role, while Richmond Lamptey, who now plays for Asante Kotoko, was given a 30-month ban for attempting to stake a bet on the fixed result.

However, after the encounter, Musah, admitted in a radio interview that his own goals were scored deliberately to scupper a 5-1 bet that some people had placed on the match.

The Nigeria Football Federation has reacted swiftly to the worldwide ban placed on the Nigerian player’s involvement in the game, as Issa Ali has been removed from the Super Eagles squad for the upcoming international friendly against Mexico and Ecuador.

The defender was among the eight home-based players named for the two friendlies in the United States slated for early June.

The player is one of the revelations of the season. The lanker striker scored the first goal of the season when Remo Stars defeated MFM FC in the 2021/2022 season opener played at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Lagos.

Andy who is playing his debut seasoning the NPFL scored the two goals that helped Remo Stars defeat the Lagos Church team by 2-0 on an opening day to announce its presence in the league.

He has scored a total of ten goals so far, four short of the Ishaq Rafiu of Rivers United in the hotshot race.

With this ban, he may not have the opportunity to continue in the highest goal scorer race as well as help Remo Stars in their chase for the continental soot finish.

He is also one of the players that might have done enough in the league this season, to get a CHAN Super Eagles to call up for the upcoming 2022 Championship of Africa Nations Cup which only players based in their country are eligible to feature in the tournament.

This ban will make him miss the opportunity as well.