Popular football administrator Albert Commey has retracted his claim that some Ghana Premier League matches were fixed, citing illness as the reason.
He accused several clubs of manipulating results including giants Hearts of Oak – which has sparked outrage in the West African country.
He claimed that the match between the Phobians and Real Tamale United, which ended 4-1 in favour of the latter, was fixed.
RTU entered the game desperate for three points. It was their only hope of avoiding relegation from the top flight and they recorded a shocking result to stay up.
He also claimed that the match between his own AshantiGold and Bibiani GoldStars, in which Yaw Annor scored two goals to win the golden boot, was fixed.
With claim of match-fixing gaining currency in the local media, the claim by the top official further damages and completely obliterate the local football brand.
The former Eleven Wonders Chief Executive was summoned to the Ghana FA’s Ethics Committee to provide proof for his outrageous allegations, which appear to have harmed the league’s reputation.
However, he has now apologised.
“I have realized that the interview I granted to Space FM in Sunyani recently has generated a lot of controversy among the football fraternity, especially the clubs whose names I mentioned in the said interview”, Commey said in a portion of his statement.
“I apologize unreservedly to the Ghana Football Association for making such unpleasant comments and hereby retract anything I said in the interview. I must admit that I have been unwell for the past three months.”