Cruel, wicked, outrageous, dreadful, cowardly. These were but a few of the words I read and heard being used to describe referee Samuel Sukah per his decision to award Accra Hearts of Oak that controversial penalty last Sunday. I have been associated with the game for far too long to unnecessarily get into the fold of chastising match officials for their actions. Indeed, I have seen some dreadful decisions, if not worse than the one witnessed on Sunday, both locally and internationally. The big question on the lips of many a follower of the game on the local scene is the level of punishment meted out to these match officials whose actions have directly impacted on the outcomes of games.
I recall a few of them last season where the likes of referee Agbovi and co were barred for up to eight games over what the Referees Appointments Committee attributed to unsatisfactory performance. One would have thought that such decisions were going to serve as a deterrent to these match officials in the Ghana Premier League space but that to be honest has not been the case.
I have been told of some harrowing and frightening decisions by match officials at some particular venues, ones that have been carried out with such disdain and impunity. Sadly, most of these corrupt and shameful decisions are mostly meted out to clubs who barely have constituencies at the highest level of the sport and at venues where these games barely find their way onto our screens. We tend to have very fair officiating when the games are broadcast on television and otherwise when the games are not. I struggle to comprehend why the standards seem to drop when the games are not aired. Match officials are trained to exhibit high professional standards on match days no matter where they find themselves. It is a shame that these same club officials who have been shouting from the rooftops over the actions of these officials are the same individuals who have conspired with the men in black to handle some of these same games that poorly.
I vividly recall the comments of GFA boss Kwesi Nyantekyi who spectacularly called on referees to supposedly “accept” bribes from the club officials who wanted games influenced but to still give out their best on match days. I am not too sure how that works, but it only revealed the extent to which our match officials have been corrupted over the years. Human error is a part of the game as refs do not have the opportunity of a replay as majority of us may have. They take decisions in a blink of an eye and have to live with them for years to come. It is very difficult to tell if these officials have always been influenced by external sources as they can also make genuine mistakes. Indeed some have had to come out apologising for their actions and though these games most often than not can’t be replayed, the cost to the losing sides sometimes cannot be quantified. In the developed and more financially advanced settings, these acts by the match officials could cost millions of dollars come season’s end. PSG might have a lot to say about that following their tumultuous loss to Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League a couple of weeks.
I have had the opportunity of watching Sunday’s decision over and over again and I would want to believe ref Samuel Sukah has had the opportunity to do same. I understand the argument made by several sports pundits in his defence over having to make that decision in a blink of an eye. Question still remains as to why he whistled for a pen when he may not have been 100% sure of what the implications might be. It is more than obvious to me, and I repeat, to me, that it was NOT A PENALTY in a billion years. The ball was nowhere near the arms of defender Ahmed Adams. The hard part of the decision was the reaction of both sets of fans after the game. Whereas the Phobians are still celebrating the win, the Kotoko faithful have been livid and have been cursing Ref Sukkah since. He is persona non grata to many a Kotoko faithful. I am, however, not happy with the decision by some fans to pelt the match official for his actions. He may have gotten his call wrong and I understand how emotional some football fans can be with such decisions, but in such times there is the need for cool heads.
I have heard some fans say Kotoko and some other clubs have been beneficiaries of even worse penalty calls. I still have the footage of the penalty awarded to Kotoko against Dreams FC last season. Now that was a dreadful call in my opinion. I am not in any way justifying Sukkah’s actions. I only believe referees should be setting very high standards for themselves in order to get the big games locally, continentally and globally. Is it not shameful that Ghanaian match officials barely get a look in at tournaments or the big games outside her boundaries? For a country that makes so much noise about being a powerhouse on the continent and the global space, that is unacceptable.
To add insult to injury, another Ghanaian ref Joseph Lamptey received his “marching orders”, if you like, over his actions in the World Cup qualifier between Senegal and South Africa last year, where his performance was at best amateurish. Unfortunately for the immigration official, his past deeds seem to have been catalogued by football controlling body FIFA with his days now numbered in the match officiating space. For FIFA to have described his actions as unlawfully influencing match results is worrying and sad to say the least.
Hopefully, this hard stance by the Swiss-based body would serve as a deterrent to match officials in Ghana. It is, however, very annoying comments by some Ghanaian officials who view the punishment as a racist one. That stance is one of deceit and football bigotry. Their deeds would catch up with them soon. Sanity in our game is key and sanity it should be.
Thanks for reading this piece.
Class91.3FM, Accra.
