The Board Chairman of Ghana Premier League side Legon Cities Mr. Fred Agbenyo has given credence to issues of match fixing and manipulations in the league.
According to him, they have been receiving calls from some club administrators to assist them in such regards.
Speaking in an interview with Esther Abankwa on Angel TV’s weekend Abomu Sports show, the vocal Politician who doubles as the Board Chairman of the club observed that match fixing becomes prevalent when the season is about to end.
“It’s a reality, we hear these things, you receive calls from everybody, requesting for help, what can you do? Look at where the season has gotten to, with about five matches to go,they would tell you to help them because they are in the Relegation zone.
These are calls we receive on daily basis. They would call people who are closer to you,to talk to you on their behalf.
They exist in our football. Anybody who tells you it doesn’t exist is telling you lies.
‘Match fixing is a reality, we have encountered such before’ – Legon Cities Boss Fred Agbenyo.
Over to you @ghanafaofficial pic.twitter.com/lYUHnA5svL
— David Stevenson (@dav_stevenson) May 22, 2022
What can I do? How do you expect me to tell my coach to tell the players to play it soft? If I do that, I am paving way for future indiscipline. It’s about integrity, I can’t lower myself to such an extent, there is no way this thing will happen to Legon Cities” he said.
On betting Companies;
He further called for the payment of clubs by betting companies who use the Ghana Premier League as content. Mr. Agbenyo stated that clubs must be given certain percentage of the profit gained by these betting companies.
“These betting companies need to give us a percentage. They cannot use our content for their monetary gains, without us getting any thing. Where does thing happen in the world? Some of the things you hear, some of the players, they are involved in betting, the referees too, allegedly are involved, how do we attract sponsors?, he questioned.
Ashantigold SC and Inter Allies FC have both been recently demoted to Division two after they were found guilty by the Disciplinary Committee of the Ghana Football Association for match manipulations in the 2020/2021 season.